Out of the Woods
by Gravity In the Air
Summary: Regina had wanted a baby since she'd brought everyone to Storybrooke. Four years ago she went back to the Enchanted Forest to try and make that happen. She didn't expect to find a little blonde child in the woods four years later or who came with her. Things for these two are never easy though. Will they ever be out of the woods? eventual dragon queen
1. Chapter 1

HEYYYYY! i really hope you all like this story. it's a Mommy!Regina, little!emma story. If it's not your thing, don't read. Venture on over to Heir's to No Man's Land instead. this story will eventually be dragon queen. again, evil snow.

 **i don't own ouat. yadda yadda don't sue me.**

beta fabulous: RowArk

enjoy :)

 **ESESESESESESESESESESES**

 _Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud._

The rhythmic beat of feet hitting ground is one of the reasons Regina kept up running. She'd first picked it up to try and forget, to literally try and run away all her problems. She kept going because it calmed her. It allowed her enough freedom to escape her mind during the monotony of the path through the woods. She could forget the townspeople. She could forget Snow. Some days if she ran hard enough she could temporarily forget the pang of loneliness in her heart.

Some days, but not today. Today was the twenty fifth of April. It was Daniel's birthday. Try as she might, no matter how hard or how far she ran, nothing would be making this day easier. And she had tried….

 _Four years ago today:_

 _Regina had had enough. She'd been in this wretched town for ten years. Ten years she'd worked her ass off to try and redeem herself to these sniveling imbeciles who had come running to her for help, her of all people, after Snow went off the rails after David died. It'd taken months, but the magic in abundance from the Charming newborn had given her what she needed to create Storybrooke and send all in the land there. She'd saved them all, and yet no one really gave her a chance. She'd had enough of being lonely, so she went to the last person in any realm she wanted to deal with._

" _Rumple, I want a child. What do you want?"_

 _The imp smirked at her. "Nothing, dearie. I have all I need here. You forced my son here when we came. I have Belle. I own most the real estate here. I don't need or want anything from you."_

 _Regina glared at the too happy giggle the irritating man let loose. "There has to be a way to procure me a child. Please!" Begging. She was begging. A queen never begs, and yet she couldn't help it. She was feeling desperate._

" _Regina, this world you brought us to has rules and laws. Technically we barely exist to everyone outside here. People can't just come here who aren't from the other realm. Children of this world won't be possible to bring here. Magic might make a child, but the only reliable place magic worked was back home." Belle informed, cutting off whatever Rumple was going to tell her._

 _Sighing, Regina left the shop. Belle's words rang through her head all day and well into the night as she tossed and turned in her sheets. 'The only reliable place magic worked was back home. Back home…. back home.' That was it! Back home!_

 _The queen didn't even bother changing clothes. She simple poofed herself to her vault and started digging through her magic books. It took her hours, but she finally found a portal spell to do it. It'd take most her energy and magic though, so she'd be spending a few days back in the forest._

 _Regina appeared just outside her old home. The magic was more draining that she thought. She'd have to wait until tomorrow to try and do the spell._

 _Sleep was not easy to come by in a house of horrors. Regina was grateful that any down time not using her magic worked to restore it. She went to the stable and pulled out the necklace from underneath her shirt that held Daniel's ring. Try as hard as she might have with his ring, nothing seemed to be happening. The magic left the ring. She no longer saw Daniel's face in it, but she also didn't feel any different. That damn infertility potion was really biting her in the ass now._

 _Frustrated and upset, she walked the stables and recalled the stolen romance she'd had with her stable boy. Her fingers caught on rough patch on one of the inside gates, so she stopped to examine it. DB-4/25. Her breath caught. 4/25. Today was that day. Today was Daniel's birthday. Her failure to create a child, Daniel's child, was suddenly too much. She'd failed both of them, again, and on his birthday._

 _It'd taken her three days to regain her full strength to get back to Storybrooke. Three days to see the devastation everything had succumbed to. Ogres and rogue wolves running wild. There was scarce any food. She did not miss not having electricity or indoor plumbing that's for sure. When she got back to Storybrooke she threw herself into running. It was an accidental discovery when her emotions had become too much to bear being in her home alone. She'd panicked and ran. She didn't think when she ran. Regina found she quite liked it._

 _The more she ran, the more she could dodge her loneliness. The more she ran the more she could try and not think of the loss of Daniel, and the child they'd never have. The more she ran the better she felt while running._

Running was what brought her to the woods. Running was what brought her there today. Today was Daniel's birthday again. It'd been four years since she'd tried to create Daniel's child. Four years since she'd failed and had had to return to Storybrooke to repeat her days alone and miserable.

The weather had not been great in the days prior. It'd been raining hard, so the ground was still slippery. Regina wasn't paying attention though. She just wanted to, needed to, run farther, run faster. She needed to get away from the pain that today brought for her. The same mindlessness running brought her that she craved was the same thing she cursed as she slipped on wet grass and found herself in hung upside down with a rope around her ankle as she flailed about.

She wasn't aware how long she flopped about trying to get down, but as she stopped struggling she noticed subtle changes to the forest that she'd grown very accustomed to. There were a few traps she noticed now hanging several feet in the air that she hadn't from on the ground. It almost looked like two small palettes were balancing on branches in a distant tree.

Regina must have been shouting louder than she thought because as she was about to give up ever getting upright and down from the tree again, Graham and Ruby showed up. "Bout damn time someone came! Get me down immediately!"

Ruby didn't hesitate to double over in laughter at the sight of Regina hanging upside down by her ankle from a tree, her face redder than a tomato. Graham at least had the decency to try and hide his amusement.

"NOW!"

"Fine, fine, but how did you get up there? Why can't you magic yourself down?"

"Ms. Lucas, I need to be calm and focused to do magic. Calm and focused does not come from being strung up like some animal in a hunt." Regina glared at them both once she was on her feet again. "As for who did this, I don't know. I changed my path a few weeks ago and haven't been this way since."

The three investigated the area around the trap and found a few more. Graham sprung them before Ruby jumped up suddenly, startling the remaining two. "This looks just like Snow's bandit traps!"

Regina was not amused by the statement or the young girl's over enthusiasm at her revelation. She was about to reply when a twig snapping caught their attention. A small, pudgy face of a red haired boy loaded with freckles and rough looking clothes froze a few yards away before disappearing again.

They tried to locate the boy long after the sun went down, but to no avail. They searched for days. When people started reporting odd things around town being stolen, nothing left behind but muddy child footprints, Regina had no choice but to call a town meeting and inform them about the child in the woods.

Dozens of questions were thrown at her by several different people. At least they all seemed interested in finding the child. She noticed Snow absent, but then again Snow usually is from anything but teaching and the occasional grocery store trip or trip to Granny's. She'd become the unfriendliest person in town, grumpier than a sober Leroy. She liked that people wanted to help find the boy, but Regina couldn't deal with them all. They'd just get in the way, so she had them fill out a sheet for small group search parties or volunteering to make food or donate clothes for the boy.

Back at her mansion she assembled the people she trusted most, Abigail, Frederik, Ruby, Graham, and Tink. They were in the middle of discussing how to best go about things when they were loudly interrupted by a throat clearing.

"I didn't extend an invitation, dear. Next time recognize some boundaries and ring the doorbell."

Snow rolled her eyes. "You have a problem," came the blunt statement.

"We're handling it. Why'd you set up traps in the woods?" Ruby questioned the brunette.

"I didn't."

"Snow, don't lie to me. We used to be best friends before David died. I'd know your work anywhere."

"Don't say his name! You don't deserve to. I know it's my signature, but I didn't set them. Why would I bother? I don't care who is in the woods or why."

The group watched the two go back and forth like a really long volley in tennis.

"If it wasn't you, then you must know who it is." Ruby had had enough and wanted real answers.

Snow smirked, knowing just how to push Red's buttons. "Enough!" Regina was done playing too, and she stormed over, squeezing the air and using her magic to choke the brunette a bit. "That is an innocent child out there. Tell us everything you know. Now!" She released Snow after another few seconds.

A dark eyebrow raised in amusement before she tossed a letter on the table. "The traps are the same because it's nature winning over nurture."

Red gasped causing the group to grow concerned. "Ms. Lucas?" Regina wondered what silent conversation the former friends were having.

"She's alive? Your baby is alive? She's here? How do you know?"

"Ms. Lucas?!"

Red and Snow ignored Regina, and everyone else for that matter. "Who do you think sent those sniveling brats into the woods when they came crawling back around at the end of January?"

Ruby lost it and lunged at Snow. "You've let your own child wither away in the woods in the dead of winter? What is wrong with you? Don't even bullshit about her killing David, because we both know David chose to go on that mission alone."

Regina eventually had to separate the two with magic. "Snow, what is going on?"

The brunette chose to leave instead of explaining. Abigail picked up the letter. "Uh, Regina, we've got a bit of a problem…"

Regina read the letters. There were two of them. One was dated six months ago. The other a few weeks ago. Whoever this Yellow Fairy was that was in charge of the children was incredibly negligent in making sure they were safe before taking off. According to the letter, there were not one, but two children in the woods. The first attempt at giving the children to Snow had resulted in the "accidental" losing of the children over the town line. The second resulted in the kids being forced into the forest.

"This doesn't explain who the children are or why we can't find them. It's been weeks and they've been surviving off what they can steal. We need to find them." Regina was not happy to have children in the woods alone. She was going to find them and keep them safe. This was her chance.

"Well, the girl is Snow's daughter. When we were in meetings for the purpose of making the tree to send Snow some place else, Geppetto's son, Pinocchio, was incredibly curious in it. I bet it's him out there with her. We found the boy by springing the traps. Let's go try and spring the rest and see what we come up with." Ruby was already to the door before anyone else could process.

Regina shook her head as she grabbed some sandwiches and bottles of water before following. Snow's daughter should be around twelve or thirteen by now. The boy she saw in the woods couldn't be older than eight. What was going on?

 **ESESESESESESESESES**

what is going on, indeed. what do you think regina and her friends will encounter in the woods? will they finally find the children? how old do you think they'll be? will the children receive regina well? why does snow not want her own child?

what do y'all think? you interested in more? emma is coming next chapter. **please review or pm me with anything... questions, comments, thoughts, ideas you'd like to see in here... seriously, i love talking to you!**


	2. Chapter 2

regina and her friends finally meet emma and pinocchio. how are you expecting it to go? any idea how/why the kids are here now after all this time?

beta fabulous: RowArk

enjoy :)

 **ESESESESESESESESESES**

The small group got to the woods where Regina had fallen into the first trap. They split up and tried looking for the kids or any more traps. They spent twenty minutes springing traps, not realizing that the kids were well aware of what they were doing and were laughing at them.

Regina was growing frustrated. It shouldn't be this hard to find two kids. Why couldn't they find them? 'Offer the sandwich in the clearing. He will come.' She spun around looking for the voice, but no one was near her. It sounded so much like… She shook her head as she moved to the clearing. No. It wasn't possible he was here anymore.

The group came together again just behind the clearing, trying to stay hidden by trees in case the boy came. The sandwich didn't move for a while, but something happened and whatever glamour spell was going on disappeared, revealing a tall, skinny little red headed boy scarfing down the sandwich.

Pinocchio jumped as he heard gasps from the edge of the clearing, and scrambled to his feet. Emma's magic had never failed before when he was taking food from people's homes. The group walked towards him and he held his hands up trying to stop them. "Go 'way!"

Ruby recognized the little one immediately as she got closer. "Occhio, no one wants to hurt you! We all want to help you! I know your daddy would love to see you again. If we can get you and your friend out of the woods I promise there'll always be food and we can get you bathed and in new clothes."

Hazel eyes narrowed as he surveyed the crowd. "No! You brought the witch! She is evil!"

"Pinocchio, she's not evil anymore. She's here to help you!" Frederik tried to appeal to him.

The boy was having none of it, arguing with them all on not being able to trust the Evil Queen. Graham had had enough and started chase. "Help! Emma, help me!" Pinocchio was terrified of the wolf man, but he dared smirk at Graham with a devilish enough look in his eyes that sent a shiver down Graham's spine.

Before anyone could react to Graham terrifying the boy, ice blue magic shot out of nowhere, blasting Graham back into the trees. They all gasped at the appearance of the toddler next to Pinocchio. The little girl patted him all over checking for injury, completely ignoring the adults all gaping at her.

Regina watched intensely, studying their interaction. These kids definitely were from their home, their old home in the forest. Their loose tops that were white at one point. The boy's pants were tight, almost too small. The girl's though were easily far too big leading her to believe they used to be Pinocchio's at one point. Their little feet were bare. She couldn't stop looking at the girl, at Emma. She was a tiny thing, with long pale blonde curls littered in leaves and dirt. Dirt was smudged all over her body. Regina noted to get her in the bath immediately.

"Emma, my name is Regina. I'm going to help you." Regina didn't know where the words came from, but she found that meant them with her whole heart.

A tiny chin raised, shoulders squared, before green eyes met hers defiantly. One thing was for sure, no one would deny that this was Snow's daughter.

Focus diverted quickly when gasps from those around her made her look down at the girl's hand. There was a glowing silver blue orb in her hands much like her fireball. She didn't want this girl to be afraid though.

"E-Em-Emma?" Ruby's breath left her as she finally realized this pint sized girl was her godchild that she'd promised David she'd protect with her life.

The orb grew and quickly surrounded the children as the adults moved closer. Ruby dared to step closer, but Emma moved backwards. "Sweetheart, I won't hurt you. Do you know who I am?"

Both children nodded. "Do you know who we all are?" Abigail asked.

Pinocchio looked at each of them and listed their names, but he paused at Tink, cocking his head in confusion.

"I'm Tinkerbell. My friends call me Tink. I'm a fairy."

Everyone gasped as magic shot out of the shield to blast Tinkerbell away.

"Why did you do that?" Frederik sounded angry, and that wasn't going to do them any favors.

"Fairies are stupid and evil. Evil hangs out with evil. You're all bad!"

"Occhio, you know me. I am still friends with your papa. Do you think your papa would be friends with someone evil?" Ruby questioned. The boy frowned, not knowing how to answer.

Ruby turned her focus back to the little girl. "Honey, do you know about your daddy?" The only response was the little blonde's bottom lip jutting out in a pout. "I'm Red. Your daddy made me promise to look out for you. You can trust me. I'm safe."

The shield didn't come down and they stepped back when Ruby stepped closer. "Someone call Gep down here to get the boy." Frederik was tired. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep, but he wasn't about to allow his wife to be around a magically explosive child alone.

They all waited the fifteen minutes in silent standoff it took for Geppetto to arrive. Pinocchio ran to him in excitement before looking back at his friend. Emma was trying not to be terrified, but she was surrounded by so many people she didn't know, people with the potential to hurt her. They were with a fairy, and fairies only hurt. Now she was alone since Pinocchio had found his father.

Regina watched fearful green eyes constantly scan the crowd, waiting for someone to move. She didn't want the girl to be afraid. "Why doesn't everyone just back up a bit?"

'You can't hurt her with magic. She's your balance. Show her and she'll come with you.'

The voice again. Why did it have to sound so much like him? Where was it coming from and why? It worked the last time though so Regina flared up a fireball. The people around her protested, but she ignored them, locked into a staring contest with Emma. "I'm going to show you that my magic can't hurt you. Will you let me give you some food and a nice bed once I do?" Tiny shoulders shrugged almost imperceptibly.

Emma lowered her shield and stared at the Evil Queen, waiting for the attack. Regina released her fireball at Emma, but as it neared her Emma countered it with a water ball. "See, I can't hurt you with my magic. Your magic knows exactly how to counter mine. Do you know how Storybrooke was created?" The blonde nodded. "Good, you know that I used your magic when you were born to do that. I could only do that if you were my balance. Every magical being has to have someone to balance them out, whose power is equal to their own. My magic and your magic are identical, twins almost. We can't hurt each other. You're safe with me."

The group waited and watched the little girl.

'Go on. Go over to her. She won't come near so many people. I told her you were good.'

Damn voice, Regina cursed inwardly before walking towards the girl. Ruby moved forwards as well about five feet to her left. Emma froze, eyes darting between the two. Her friend said Regina was good and to go to her. The wolf girl was good too, but she was Snow's friend, and Snow wasn't good.

Emma stepped to the right, more in line with Regina. 'Go on, duckling. Regina will take care of you. She came to the forest to be your mommy years ago, but the fairies wouldn't let you go yet. She's been waiting for you.' She looked around for her friend, but he wasn't visible. He must be scared too. "Emma, baby, please don't be afraid. I'll keep you safe!" She looked at the woman she knew as the Evil Queen and stepped towards her.

It turned into a competition between Ruby and Regina as to who Emma would actually go to. Both wanted her desperately, for very different reasons. The little one seemed torn, but Regina won out as the tiny girl moved more in line with Regina every time they stepped towards her. Before long Regina reached the girl. She bent down to be level with striking green eyes. From this view she could see flecks of blue and grey in them as well. "Hi, sweetheart. I'm Regina. You're safe with me."

Emma didn't say anything. Ruby was too close, trying still to get the girl to choose her. She stepped away quickly, her shield back up around her, but it didn't protect her from herself as she tripped in her haste to retreat and landed hard on the ground.

Regina glared at the wolf girl before quickly reaching through the shield and picking up the tearful girl. "Shh, sweetling, don't cry. I've got you. You're okay," she soothed as she rubbed Emma's back. Tiny arms locked tightly around her neck and little legs tried hard to wrap around her back. "Ms. Lucas, you've done enough for one night. Emma clearly doesn't want to go with you. Step away!"

"I-I can't! I promised David to protect her. I've failed for twelve and a half years. I can't just leave her now."

Regina stared hard at the girl before her jaw dropped. She reached out and smacked Ruby upside the head. "You're an idiot child for attempting to imprint on a newborn. The subject of imprinting has to be able to make a conscious choice for that. The rules clearly state that a child must be at least seven winters, and you may only attempt an imprint on someone once. The pain of a failed imprint never goes away."

"Don't keep her from me please! That's my pup! Please!"

Graham sighed, the only one of the group understanding what was going on. Ruby had failed to imprint. She'd disobeyed the rules, and her heart would ache as long as she was without a new person to imprint on. Wolves never imprinted carelessly. The repercussions of failure had caused many a wolf to end themselves. He didn't want his girlfriend gone.

"Red, I know how badly you want to be near Emma, but look at her honey. She's scared of you. We don't know if the imprint left any negative consequences. We'll find someone for you. I promise!" He pulled her into a hug, now understanding why she'd always refused to imprint on anyone now.

"The hell is going on? Magic toddlers who are supposed to be teenagers. Wolves and failed imprinting. Magical balancing. This is a bad dream. I'm going insane!"

Frederik's shouting rant caused both children to jump. The shield was instantly around Emma again. Regina was surprised to find it also surrounded herself as well. The child was trying to protect her. Pinocchio was hiding behind Geppetto's legs.

"Abigail, perhaps you should take your husband home? You can come over tomorrow and we'll have lunch." The woman nodded, placing her hand on her husband's arm to calm him. "Thank you for your help," Regina added as the pair walked away.

"We're going to go too. Let us know when you're settled. We'd love to help with the little one." Graham smiled at Regina before leading Ruby towards the path home.

She was left with Geppetto and Pinocchio staring at her. "Come, we'll go to my house. I have some questions I'd like to ask the boy. Perhaps a bath and a hot meal will do both children good."

Together the four of them walked out of the woods together, not bothering to notice that Tinkerbell had long gone or that someone else had been watching the whole time.

 **ESESESESESESESESESESESES**

any idea who the voice is? figure out why the children are finally here after all this time? how do you think emma will act around ruby in the future?

 **any questions? comments? thoughts? ideas? let me know. i love hearing from you**


	3. Chapter 3

hey :)

to my guest reviewer asking for a cookie, which kind would you like? you've earned one

this is honestly becoming one of my favorites to write. i love little emma. for those that don't know, i've got another little emma story, completely au with no magic and a mad queen pairing but still hella cute, called gotta love me. i don't know. little emma in a land with or without magic is a precious precocious handful

beta fabulous: RowArk. seriously, this girl is just beyond wonderful

 **ESESESESESESESES**

Regina kept trying to check on the little one in her arms, but the child kept her face buried in her neck and her limbs locked tight around her. Every new noise made the shield appear. It'd barely be down again before something else startled her. Regina was grateful when they were finally at the mansion. She set out some towels and magicked a change of clothes for the boy in the guest bath before leaving Geppetto to it.

Emma stared around the strange room she was in, confusion and curiosity etched in her features. Regina was watching the tiny child out of the corner of her eye as she filled her own bathtub with water and bubbles. Children like bubbles right? "Emma, do you know what any of this stuff is?"

The tiny blonde shook her head no. Regina explained what a toilet was and how it worked. She magicked a stool and showed her the sink and how to use a toothbrush. Carefully she undressed the child, trying to remove as much debris from her hair before placing the girl in the tub. "This is a bathtub. It's used to get clean in this world." The girl looked utterly lost. "Did no one ever bathe you in the Enchanted Forest?" Again the tiny blonde shook her head no.

Who raised this girl that she never had a bath? What of her time in the real world outside Storybrooke? The sooner she got the girl bathed and both children fed, the sooner she could question the little boy. She had to keep the faucet running in order to ensure she didn't pour dirty water into the girl's hair. The towel easily engulfed the little girl after her bath. Regina debated for a while before magicking the girl into a pull-up and giving her one of her personal shirts to wear.

Regina frowned as she realized Emma practically weighed nothing. She took the girl downstairs and found Geppetto and Pinocchio in the kitchen. The toddler held on for dear life so it made whipping up some homemade macaroni and cheese a little difficult.

Emma looked at Pinocchio from her spot on Regina's lap. Neither child knew what was presented to them. The fairies gave them bread and chicken soup. Sometimes they had potatoes. This, whatever was in front of them, was something new and neither was too excited to try it. Emma magicked them some rolls and both tore into them until Regina sent them away. Green eyes turned to glare at the woman.

"No! I know all about children's predilection for breads and potatoes. This is macaroni and cheese. Try it. It's good!"

A little bottom lip quivered and Regina sighed, holding out a spoon to the little one. Emma waited for Pinocchio to try it first. Seeing her friend okay after his first bite she decided to accept the spoon offered. Geppetto and Regina watched in shock and somewhat horror as the two little ones discarded spoons and used both hands instead, eating as if they'd never been fed before. Regina realized they probably hadn't had much in the last few months.

Pinocchio had seconds, but for as messy as Emma was, there was still food in the bowl. Emma pushed it towards the boy who promptly ate it. The slight flush to the boy and the little extra pudge on him suddenly made sense. Regina could count all of Emma's ribs. Undoubtedly the girl was underweight. Emma probably had been passing on her food in attempts to give her friend a chance.

"Pinocchio, how old are you and Emma? Why isn't she a teenager?"

Hazel eyes snapped up to hers as Geppetto cleaned his son's face and hands with a rag. "I'm eight. She's three and a half. She used to be a baby forever but something happened and we grew."

"Who took care of you? How? There was nothing but ogres and savages when I visited."

Green eyes turned to face her at the news Regina had been to the Enchanted Forest recently. "Fairies watched us. Yellow and Purple took turns. When Emma grew they started teaching us all about how the forest used to be. If we learned too slow or forgot we were punished. Fairies are mean," the boy pouted.

Regina didn't particularly care for the moths either, but how could someone on the side of good harm a child? She hugged Emma a little tighter to her. "Fairies hurt you? Is that why you attacked Tink? She is a really good friend. I promise. How did they hurt you?"

Pinocchio nodded to Emma. The next instant Regina felt magic zap her. "They did that a lot, but a lot harder and longer. Their magic hurts. They spanked too, just like the other people outside the orange line."

Orange line? Oh, the town's border. He was talking about being hurt in foster homes. "Would it be okay if I looked into your memories? It won't hurt. All I do is hold a dreamcatcher over your head. I won't even touch you."

Both Regina and Pinocchio looked to Geppetto for permission. Once given the boy sat frozen on his father's lap as she walked over holding Emma and the dreamcatcher. Regina watched his memories from right after the curse broke up to her finding him in the woods. She saw their lessons and how they were punished for the littlest thing. She watched the attempt at returning them to Snow and how horribly that went. She saw the horrors they went through in foster care. Regina watched the second attempt at giving the children to Snow and their time in the woods.

When the dreamcatcher faded to black she produced a cookie and handed it to Pinocchio. Emma made a noise of protest and poofed the cookie to herself. 'Toddlers, selfishness, and cookies,' Regina thought before giving the cookie back to the boy. She produced another one and gave it to Emma.

"Thank you, both. Please stop by again and visit. I know you two have spent so long together. I'd like if you two could remain friends." Regina guided them to the door. "Wait, one more question. Occhi, does Emma talk?"

Pinocchio let his papa pick him up. "Emma hasn't talked to anyone but me and Danny since Snow sent us away the first time. Sometimes she doesn't even talk at all for a while. Goodnight, your majesty. Thank you for the food."

 **ESESESESESESESESESES**

Regina watched them make it to the end of her driveway before carrying the tiny child attached to her inside. "I swear I found a child in the woods, not a koala."

Emma leaned her head back and stared at Regina, waiting for her to explain what a koala was. "Sweetling, I won't hurt you. Please talk to me!" Emma buried her face in Regina's neck again, hiding herself away.

She didn't know what to do with a child. It was late, surely it was past time for the little one to sleep. Regina used magic to clean her kitchen before going up to her room. Emma flinched hard as she felt the magic surround herself and Regina. It made Regina pull Emma out of her neck. "You're safe, Emma. I merely changed myself into pajamas. They're clothes you sleep in."

Hours later Emma was still awake, quietly laying on top of Regina as the woman tried to read her book, absentmindedly rubbing the girl's back with the hand not holding her book.

 _'You two look so right together! I'm glad she's finally home.'_

Regina startled, jostling Emma who sat up and smiled at the fact her friend was visible again! The brunette's jaw dropped as the little girl waved at Daniel's image.

 _'Hi my little duckling. I told you that you'd be safe with Regina. She'll take care of you.'_

Daniel was smiling at Regina as he spoke to Emma. The two seemed to know each other. "But how? How are you here? You died!"

 _'You brought me back, Regina. You came back to our home and tried to create a new life with me. You wished for a child. The problem was that there was already a child who needed you desperately and all the love you have to give. Instead of creating a new life, I became Emma's guardian angel. I have brought her to you to take care of. Emma is a wonderful little girl. I am fulfilling your wish.'_

"I wished for a child, our child, four years ago. Why is she suddenly here now? How have you been helping her? How- how could you allow her to be so mistreated by the fairies, by Snow, by those foster people? How is she so little?"

Daniel leaned in and let his hand wipe away his love's tears. _'Shh, be calm. I came back when you tried to create life from me. I became this mirage who can sometimes will myself into the physical plane. It took me time to find Emma. She'd been a newborn for nine years. Do you know how hard it is to find a fairy tree, Regina? By the time I found her you had already gone back. The fairies couldn't see me, so I took care of Emma and Pinocchio the best I could. I couldn't stop Snow from shoving the children over the town line, and I wasn't supposed to exist beyond it. I could do nothing while they were in the real world, no matter how much I wanted to. The children refused to go into town again after Snow forced them into the woods. I led you to them. I couldn't force you into the woods or change the weather to get you there, but I helped as soon as I could. Emma is my duckling, my daughter. She's ours. It's time to care for her.'_

Regina sat in silence a few minutes absorbing his rant. She'd never seen Daniel this upset. "You think of her as your, as our, daughter? How do I care for her? She doesn't talk. In- with the dreamcatcher, I-I saw, was she?"

 _'Breathe, Regina. You're going to scare Emma. I do consider her my daughter. There's no one else I'd ever consider raising a child with than you. You're going to be her mother, and a fabulous one. Emma has had a really rough go of it. She's always felt it was her job to protect Pinocchio because she had magic, so she took the worst of the beatings in the foster homes. She got the worst of the punishment from the fairies. Emma is incredibly stubborn and strong willed. She is a fighter, Regina, just like you. She gave most the food to Occhi. The fairies only fed them water, bread, and broth with pieces of chicken, sometimes potatoes. Things weren't much better in foster care.'_

Daniel paused to see how Regina was taking this all in. He wasn't proud of how his little swan had to grow up so harshly. He'd helped where he could, but mostly he was a glorified apparition there to keep Emma having hope and to guide her to Regina.

"The rest of my questions?"

He nodded. _'Yes, well, thankfully she didn't suffer what you're concerned about. Sometimes she came close, but she maintains that innocence. She gets upset at being around too many people or loud voices. She is afraid of the dark and storms. She gets nightmares and night terrors, but the fairies made her put up a barrier around her hay mat so you'll never know unless you check on her. Please check on her. She talks, I promise. Her laugh is be sweetest sound in the world, and her smile lights up her whole face. It's just going to take some time. She's in your arms. She trusts you. That's a fantastic start!'_

"I'll have to get her to a doctor. She's very tiny for nearly four years. I'm worried about her magic and harming the doctor. She'll need to see a dentist too, and to be enrolled in preschool or daycare. I can't bring her to the office every day. Is there anyone else at all she might like?"

Daniel shook his head. _'Emma is a good girl. She only attacks with her magic when she feels threatened. It's why she only went after Tinkerbell and not everyone in the group. Fairies make her feel threatened. A doctor might make her cry, and it'll break your heart, but she has never seen one before. I understand she needs to go. She would probably be fine being around Abigail if you were there, but don't leave her alone. Emma has an infatuation with Belle. You might try reading hour at the library. Don't let her near the Dark One. He will hurt her.'_

"With her time in the foster care system I assume some sort of formal adoption in the real world needs to take place? How do I go about doing that? Why Belle of all people?"

 _'Yes, but it should be fairly simple. You've been a registered foster parent since you returned from the forest. Just go meet a social worker in Portland and file for adoption. It'll take months. It should be a great birthday present for my duckling. Take Abigail with you. I'll tell you all you need to find the most sympathetic judge and what social worker to see. She's a lawyer. You're going to need the extra help.'_

They both looked at Emma when she made a noise only to find the girl sucking on her fingers. Daniel sighed. _'That is a common thing too. She does that when she gets incredibly tired or nervous. Emma loves Belle because she's feisty and determined to try and be her own hero even if she's scared. She's smart and loves to read. Belle is just who she grew fond of in lessons.'_

Regina sighed and ran her fingers through the girl's hair, contemplating. She'd read countless parenting books and books about children's behavior throughout stages. She'd have to be careful about Emma's diet and introduce new things slowly. She needed to take the girl shopping tomorrow. Maybe between her and Abigail Emma might feel safe.

 _'I can only stay long enough to get Emma settled in and you two adjusted to each other. I've done my job. I've brought you our baby. I know how much research and effort you put into having a child. You're going to be amazing, Regina. We need to make the most of our time together. Sleep now, though. Emma wakes with the sun.'_

 **ESESESESESESESESE**

it's... DANIEL :) what do you think of him being emma's guardian angel? he'll be making random appearances to help emma and regina as they bond. both ladies have wanted a family for so long. naturally there'll be growing pains along the way. he's there to help smooth out the ride a bit for them

when do you think emma will start talking to regina? you ready for more family bonding? who's ready to go to the doctor's? i know emma isn't.

let me know what you think. questions? comments. thoughts. feedback... i really love this story, and would like to know what all of you think as well. seriously


	4. Chapter 4

hey :) miss me yet?

beta fabulous: RowArk

hope you enjoy :)

 **ESESESESESESESESESESESESES**

Regina groaned as she woke up. Her room was still dark so she chanced a glance at the glaringly bright red numbers of her alarm clock. She had an hour to the alarm, so what woke her up? The sound of her toilet flushing and a barely audible little giggle quickly brought the memories of last night flooding back. A tiny blonde was noticeably absent from her bed. It was quite high off the floor so how Emma got off without harming herself caused her worry.

Emma heard Regina begin to wake up and looked between the door and the rest of the items in her box to put in the magic water bowl. She wanted to watch the rest of it disappear, but didn't want to get punished so she dumped the whole box in and hit the button again. The objects didn't go down this time. Instead water came flooding up and over the bowl onto the floor. Regina was going to hurt her for this for sure.

The high pitched squeak brought Regina poofing immediately into the bathroom. The little girl was nowhere to be found. Her toilet appeared gone though, water flooding her floor where it should have been. Regina undid whatever spell Emma had done and the glamour over the toilet disappeared. Inside the bowl Regina found her toothbrush, her reading glasses, her cell phone, a block of soap, a pair of socks,a bottle of perfume, some pencils, and an orange. Sighing, she used magic to fix the flooding and dry out her bathroom. She replaced all the items lost due to the toilet, since there was no way she was using any of them again.

Daniel watched Regina search the house for Emma. It amused him to see her try and hunt down the magical child by human means. Eventually he took mercy on her and appeared before her causing Regina to scream and jump back, fireball forming. "Damn it! You scared me half to death!"

' _Sorry, love, but you have to stay here and care for Emma for a very long time. I just thought I'd help since you won't find her the way you have been. She likes you, but she knows she did something naughty, even if she was just satisfying her curiosity. Emma has only ever been punished harshly for misbehaving, so she's hiding from you.'_

"Where? I've searched every place I could think of!"

He laughed. ' _Perhaps, but what did you learn last night? What got you to connect with her?'_

Regina sighed. She didn't want to play a riddles game with Daniel. She got enough of this with Rumple. "Daniel!" Her tone was low in warning.

' _Alright, alright, keep your pants on. Emma_ _ **is**_ _magic. She doesn't just have magic. She_ _ **is**_ _magic. She may be a preschooler, but her abilities far surpass her training. Something as complicated as invisibility is quite simple for her.'_

Of course. Emma was playing magical hide and seek. Regina produced a purple cloud and sent it forth to find the girl. It lead her to one of her kitchen cupboards. Regina knelt down and found a terrified Emma inside hugging her knees. The girl's shield was instantly around herself when she realized Regina was in front of her.

"Shh, I won't hurt you. I'm not angry. I promise," Regina tried to soothe as she reached in and pulled Emma out of the tiny space. "Emma, honey, I'm not mad. Remember last night. I won't ever hurt you. I know that stuff is strange here, but we don't flush random things down the toilet, okay? It's for bathroom uses only. I fixed it. It's okay."

Regina could feel the girl shaking in her arms. She turned on the coffee machine before going upstairs to show Emma that the bathroom was fixed. She let the girl wear one of her shirts as a dress and got herself ready. Eggs and toast were a safe breakfast choice for someone who had had such a limited diet, right?

Abigail came over as they were finishing breakfast. Together they tried to explain the doctor to Emma. The girl surprised both of them by poofing away. Regina followed, letting her magic take her to Emma, who was hiding in the back of her closet. Abigail and Regina didn't want to traumatize the girl so soon, but it was important to get her to a doctor. They met up with Geppetto and Pinocchio at the doctor's office.

Trying to separate the children didn't work. The second Pinocchio yelped Emma had poofed to him. The children refused to give a blood sample. Abigail sat rubbing her sore arm. She'd drawn the short straw to show the kids that it didn't hurt, that it was okay. Emma stared at Abigail's arm before looking up into the blonde's face. The nurse waited for Emma to decide what she wanted to do. Pinocchio laughed when the vials on the nurse's tray were suddenly full. Regina's jaw dropped. The spell Emma was doing over the tubes to protect from evil doing was very advanced.

Dr. Whale came through the door buried in his clipboard. Pinocchio put his arm out in front of Emma. The protection shield instantly went up. Dr. Whale was knocked on his ass as he reached out to get a heart rate on one of the children, failing to see the magic surrounding them.

"Mother fuc-"

"Doctor Whale! If you value your job you will not complete that sentence." Regina glared at him, effectively silencing the doctor.

"Clearly the children aren't comfortable with you. Send in Jasmine." Dr. Whale slowly picked himself up, glaring at the children. "Now!"

Regina waited for him to leave before turning to the pair. "Children, why did you attack him?"

"He is a monster! He's not a real doctor. Plus, Emma knows he hurt you and tried to hurt Daniel pretending to be able to bring him back to life. She said you was her parents and she not letting him near us. She protecting you!" Pinocchio stared at her like she should have known Emma was protecting her honor.

"Emma, sweetling, you're safe with me. Dr. Whale wouldn't dare hurt you. If you don't feel safe with him you can see Dr. Hakim. She's very nice."

Jasmine entered the room wearing teal scrubs, her stethoscope having a tiger pattern on it. Emma reached up to touch it. Everyone in the room understood the rapid opening and closing of the girl's hands to mean she wanted it. "Tell you what, little one. I get to listen to your heartbeat, and then you can listen to Regina's." Emma happily nodded as she watched Jasmine put the earpieces in and listen to Pinocchio's heartbeat. Emma flinched as the cold metal came into contact with her chest, but it didn't hurt.

Emma smiled up at Regina as Jasmine helped hold the earpieces against tiny ears as Emma put the metal on Regina's chest. She'd listened to the sound all night. It made her happy. She listened while Jasmine checked her nose, throat, and got her blood pressure. Emma held onto one earpiece alternating to keep listening to Regina while the doctor looked at her ears. Regina waited impatiently while the children got weighed and measured.

Regina and Abigail were startled at the marks littering Emma's body when Jasmine removed the girl's shirt to examine her. Scars and bruises were everywhere. Regina hadn't noticed the scars last night. The bruises she thought was dirt she hadn't scrubbed well. Pinocchio wasn't much better.

"Pinocchio is tall for his age, just slightly underweight. Emma, however, I expect this size from someone just turning two, two and a half. She needs multivitamins and Grow and Gain from Pediasure. It's in most stores. Do you want to begin their shot series now?"

"NO!" Pinocchio knew that didn't sound good and wanted no part of it.

It took both Regina, Abigail, and a nurse to contain Emma long enough to deliver the shots. Daniel had been right. Emma's crying was heartbreaking. The girl clung to Regina once it was over, not even remotely interested in the sucker.

"Geppetto, we've got to go to the real world and get the children into our care. It's a trivial matter, but it must be done."

The man nodded, pulling his own crying child into his arms. He followed them to Regina's car.

"Damn! I need a child seat!" Regina had to use magic to force Emma to stay in the car seat. Her poor baby had not wanted to let her go.

 **ESESESESESESESESESESESES**

Regina got them a hotel suite with two rooms. Abigail shared with her and Emma leaving Geppetto and Pinocchio to the other room. In the morning they met up with the social worker and the judge Daniel had told them about. It'd been a two hour process getting all the paperwork in order.

The brunette was pleased that Emma was now legally her foster daughter. Abigail had immediately filed the adoption papers, citing that Regina was family through the documents Regina had created. Geppetto's case was easier because all they had to do was prove Pinocchio was "kidnapped". Magic was useful for so many things.

"Gep, Abigail and I are going shopping. I've a lot of things I need to house Emma. You're welcome to come along or we can drop you and Occhi off at the hotel."

They went to Target to get clothing. Abigail swore Regina bought the entire selection of clothing in Emma's size after they got the toddler to cooperate into trying on clothes. Shoes were harder to get them into. Neither child wanted to wear them and took them off the second they were able. It was easy to get away with Emma not wearing shoes because toddlers are notoriously temperamental about shoes, but Pinocchio had to wear them.

Regina grabbed some books and educational toys for Emma as well. She bought some Goldfish crackers, some yogurt drops, squeezable cinnamon applesauce, and squeezable vanilla pudding. She found the drink that Jasmine had recommended and bought some in chocolate and vanilla. She also grabbed multivitamins, band-aids, neosporin, and baby shampoo and body wash. She went a little overboard in cups, plates, bowls, and silverware with little cartoons on them for Emma.

Abigail laughed at the third store they'd gone to. She was positive there was no room in the trunk for all these bags, but Regina was trying to give Emma the best. Regina had bought the girl an entire room set from a display at Buy Buy Baby.

Emma and Pinocchio had run ahead of the adults, set on exploring. They found the children jumping on beds and across to different beds. They were definitely little monkeys. Regina had had to explain to the children what a bed was since they'd slept on a pile of hay on the ground back in the Enchanted Forest. In foster care they'd just slept on the ground. This was definitely going to be a change for them.

The final store Regina took them to was a toy store. Hell, the kids had already gotten shoes, clothes, books, learning material, bed sets, real car seats, eatery, and snacks. Regina had bought Emma a stroller and some bath toys. The girl had four new blankets, hair products because Regina was excited to be able to style someone else's hair for a change, and a high chair and booster seat for the table in case the high chair wasn't going to go over well. The children deserved some toys now.

Pinocchio and Emma split up inside the store. Pinocchio found lego sets and Lincoln Logs. There were science experiments and plastic animals. He found action figures and trucks. He loved everything he could get his hands on. Emma was slower to pick. She wasn't familiar with anything and Abigail and Regina were looking in the wrong place to try and find her.

Emma was walking down the doll aisle when a sales girl walked over. "Do you like the princesses?"

The little blonde shrugged. She saw a Belle doll and smiled. Abigail reached the end of the aisle just then. "No, sweetie, don't like Belle. Here, this one is the best."

Abigail couldn't see which doll was being presented since she was behind the sales girl, but Emma's face fell and her bottom lip quivered.

"This is Snow White. She's the best princess of them all. She's so sweet and kind. She loves all animals. She is the fairest of them all."

Emma growled and punched the box out of the girl's hands, sending it crashing it to the floor. Abigail ran over, but Emma was already running off in tears.

"Child, you have no idea what Snow White is like. You're very wrong, and that little girl is the last person you should have tried to convince of your beliefs on her."

Abigail searched the entire store, finally finding Regina looking very confused as a sobbing Emma crashed into her legs.

Regina picked up her daughter. "My sweet Emma, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" She didn't expect a response, but she hoped for one.

"You picked a toy store outside Storybrooke. These people know absolutely nothing about what we're really like. Teenagers tend to work in these places, children who still like toys and fairytales. Children who believe Snow White to be the best princess, the kindest, and fairest of them all." Abigail waited until recognition crossed Regina's face.

"No!"

"Oh yes! This girl was trying to convince Emma how great Snow was. Emma has a mean right hook. I don't think the box will recover."

"Emma, baby, I'm so sorry. I will never make that mistake again. These people don't know that Snow's really dark right now. Will you let me pick out some toys for you?" Regina honestly felt so stupid. She should have known that something like this would happen. It was her luck after all.

Emma held on tight as Regina carried her around the store. She found craft and activity kits to do, some dolls, lego sets, board games, some movies, puzzles, and a bunch of stuffed animals. Emma liked the tea party set. She also refused to leave the Toothless toys and the Hotwheels cars. Abigail put a little knight costume complete with two wooden swords in the basket.

Regina saw Emma looking at the Belle costume. Sighing, she grabbed that too. Emma kissed her on the cheek, elated to get to dress up in Belle's infamous yellow dress.

Between the two children there was easily four carts full of merchandise. Regina knew she'd be feeling the hit to her savings, but she'd had no one really to spend over a decade's worth of money on, and it made her little duckling happy.

The ride back to Storybrooke wasn't the most pleasant. Regina ended up having to poof most the stuff back ahead of them to fit everyone in the car comfortably. It'd been a good idea to bring Emma along or her magic wouldn't have worked past the town line and they'd be driving in an overstuffed car. She quickly stopped off at the BMW dealer to trade in her tiny Mercedes for an X5. She figured she was going to need the room now that she had a child full time.

Abigail promised to come over early in the morning with Jiminy to help set up everything and paint Emma's room. she would have considered Frederik, but her husband was a bit too much for Emma at the moment.

Regina got her and Emma bathed and ready for bed, choosing to read Emma a story tonight to try and start setting up a routine. Emma had her fingers in her mouth and her eyes fighting to stay open as the story ended. It'd been a bit stressful, but the weekend out proved so worth it. There was still so much to do to get the house child ready, but Regina was thrilled to legally be able to call Emma hers. Now to just figure out how to explain it to the town in a way not to call for Snow's head. One day Emma would want to know about Snow, to talk to the woman again, and Regina did not want to have to tell her child that the townspeople had called for her death.

 **ESESESESESESESESES**

there ya go. hope you enjoyed. poor emma having to deal with those pesky shots and the salesgirl. but yay for regina putting emma first and not wanting snow's head on a platter.

who can guess what antics regina, abigail, jiminy, and emma are going to get up to?

up next: a toaster, some wall art, a royal tea party, and lots of precious fluffiness


	5. Chapter 5

here's chapter five. hope you like :)

i just posted a new little!emma story where she and lily are the daughters of maleficent and regina. if you're interested, it's called A Rose By Any Other Name. it has a sister story on my beta RowArk's profile called Daughter of Darkness. you should check them out!

 **ESESESESESESESESESESESESES**

Emma woke up bright and early. Regina hoped that she wouldn't have to get too accustomed to wake up calls at four or five in the morning. The sun wasn't even ready to rise yet. The toddler was jumping around on the bed though, making it impossible for her to sleep any longer. Emma underestimated her jumping skills and how much an obstacle a blanket could be. Regina doubled over in pain when Emma landed hard across her stomach.

"Baby, Mama is trying to sleep. Please settle for a bit." Regina froze as her sleep ladened brain struggled to catch up with what she'd just said. Mama. She'd called herself mama to Emma. Well, she was, wasn't she? The paperwork said so. Was she ready for Emma to refer to her as mama though?

Emma studied Regina. She looked upset so Emma crawled up to plant a kiss on the tip of her nose before sitting back and smiling at her. Regina pulled the girl to her and rained kisses all over Emma's face before they both settled back into bed, cuddled together.

Emma woke up an hour later. Regina was still asleep, so she grabbed hold of the sheets and lowered herself to the floor. She visited the bathroom and had fun flushing some more things down the magic bowl before she went downstairs. Emma poofed herself a cup that Regina got yesterday and filled it with water. The doorbell rang. Regina wasn't up yet so she went and pulled open the door.

Abigail fully expected to see her friend fully dressed and ready to go when the door opened, but no one seemed to be there. She frowned in confusion until Jiminy coughed and looked down. Abigail followed his gaze and came face to face with a toddler sporting severe bed head and Spiderman pajamas holding a sippy cup. The girl looked positively adorable and Abigail couldn't help smiling.

"Honey, where's your mama?"

Emma frowned. That was the second time today she'd heard that word. The faeries had told her that Snow was her mommy. She didn't want a mommy, because Snow wasn't nice which meant mommies weren't nice. But they'd said mama. Regina was good, so maybe mamas weren't bad, just mommies. She pointed upstairs before going back to the kitchen.

Abigail and Jiminy followed the toddler and watched as the girl climbed up the cabinets onto the counter to grab the bread bag. Abigail turned on the coffee maker and then took the bread bag from the girl. "Here, let's make toast."

Emma stood on the chair Abigail had brought over to the counter so she could stand on it and watch the thing work. It looked like a mini oven of some sort. Emma couldn't figure it out. Abigail grabbed her hand when she went to touch it. "No, that's hot. You'll get an owie."

Jiminy poured them each a coffee and was waiting for the toast to pop. Emma jumped when the toast finally flung up in the air before extending her arms towards it in fright. It shattered to pieces causing Abigail to scream and drop her coffee mug.

Regina was getting out of the shower when she's heard the scream and the explosion. She magicked herself some clothes before poofing downstairs in time to hear Emma mutter something.

"What did you just say?"

Emma pointed to the exploded toaster. "Devil magic."

The words were barely above a whisper, but they'd all heard her. Regina finally looked around, noticing the broken mug, spilled coffee, and the charred counter where the toaster once was.

"No, baby. That was a toaster. It's a mini oven for bread. When it's done, the bread pops up. It's not devil magic. I need you to replace it."

Emma shook her head no. "Emma Swan, that was my toaster. I need it back. Now."

Smirking, Emma flicked her wrist and reassembled the pieces into a metal swan. Abigail brought her hand up to try and hide her mouth from giving away she was laughing, but the sniggering noise couldn't be covered with a hand.

Regina raised an eyebrow at Emma. "I appreciate the beautiful art. I still want my toaster."

Jiminy lost it when a press on image of a toaster appeared on Regina's nice silk blouse. Abigail picked Emma up off the chair to avoid the little one jumping down onto broken porcelain. Regina frowned at the new addition to her shirt.

"Emma, you have two options to make. You can either make a good move and bring back my toaster. I'll make you some scrambled eggs and toast. We can play all day. Or you can make a bad move and not bring me back my toaster. You'll go sit in time out all day. We try and always make good moves."

Emma frowned for a few seconds, concentrating hard before flailing her arms and legs in anger. She didn't exactly know how to conjure a toaster. Regina reached over and set her back on the chair. "Calm down, sweetling. Breathe and focus."

The blonde turned to look up at Regina as the woman held her hands aimed at the counter. Regina smiled down at her. In the shower she'd had time to think more about Emma calling her mama and she couldn't be more thrilled and more ready for it. It was why she'd tried for a child all those years ago, to be a mama. Daniel had warned her not to go for mommy, but he hadn't said why. Emma at least seemed to respond to mama.

Instead of a toaster appearing on the counter, the heavy appliance dropped into Emma's hands, nearly crashing the girl to the floor had Regina not caught her and put the toaster on the counter. Regina waved a hand over the floor and cleaned up the mess Abigail had made. "I'm only cleaning up after you because you made me coffee."

After breakfast, Emma supervised the painting of her new room from the doorway, still barefoot and in her pajamas. Regina noticed that somewhere along the way that the little girl had grabbed her Toothless stuffed animal and was clutching it to her as if it might leave any second.

It was well after lunchtime when they had the room painted and the furniture assembled. Regina made a mental note to buy one of those mesh side nets to protect Emma from falling off the bed. It hadn't seemed so high in the store. The room also had a rocking chair and ottoman, some dressers, and a little table and chairs. Emma's stomach grumbling brought them back out of work mode.

"Oh, Emma, the time! You must be hungry for lunch. Look at you, still in your jammies. Why don't we let your mama make us some food and we can play?"

Emma stepped back from Abigail as she moved towards her. When Jiminy stepped forward, unaware as to what was going on, to simply leave the room, Emma turned and sprinted to Regina's room.

"Abigail, why don't you go start putting together some sandwiches and salad? Emma isn't used to people. She's spent thirteen years, well mentally aware of three, in a place that literally had no people. When she came here all people did was hurt her. She trusts me because Daniel told her to. She is still scared of everyone else."

Regina found Emma in the back of her closet hugging her knees, fingers in her mouth. She slowly sat down across from Emma. "Sweetling, you know I won't hurt you right? You know mama loves you?"

Emma nodded at her, not knowing where this was going. Was she going to give her away like Snow did? You don't do that to people you love. Do you?

"Don't be afraid. You're safe with me. Abigail is my friend. She won't hurt you. It's okay to be around her. Jiminy is good, too. I wouldn't make you be around people who were bad or going to hurt you. Trust mama just a little to always protect you, okay?"

Green eyes blinked up at her before the toddler crawled into her lap. Regina let her arms wrap around the tiny child as Emma rested her head on the brunette's chest. They stayed that way for a few moments before Regina stood up, careful not to dislodge Emma. She got Emma into a pair of purple leggings and a white top with a purple heart in the center.

Abigail had made the chicken, cheese, and tomato sandwiches while Jiminy set the table. Regina and Emma joined them as the sandwiches were served. Abigail watched as Regina grabbed Emma's plate, cutting the crusts off and making the halves into quarters. She thought Regina was instinctively a natural at this and it'd only been a few days.

Regina thought about making Emma take a nap, but she was afraid of causing a tantrum so she let her stay up. They put Emma in front of her toys, but the girl had simply hugged Toothless closer, just staring at the rest of the items.

"She's far too serious and grownup for a baby. Maybe we need to show her how to play?"

Regina agreed with her friend. She wanted Emma to be able to be a child here. Gods only knew what the faeries had put her through and how it affected her. She wanted to wait and gain Emma's trust before using the dreamcatcher on her. Regina also desperately wanted Emma to talk again.

Emma eyed the adults warily as all three sat down in front of her toys. They each grabbed one of her dolls and started playing with them, talking in funny voices. Emma wasn't sure what they were doing, but they looked completely silly pretending to be the dolls.

Abigail recognized just pretending with the dolls wasn't working so she had the dolls start building houses and shops out of legos. Emma giggled at them struggling to make the dolls move to make the little colored things into bigger things. It didn't get the girl to join in though.

Regina saw the girl looking at the Belle dress and suddenly thought of something. She brought out the tea set. Emma perked up at seeing it. Regina, Abigail, and Jiminy pretended to be having a tea party with the dolls, which Emma didn't understand, but she crawled closer nonetheless. Emma frowned as she took in the table. The group watched her as she grabbed some things from the dress up box.

Emma walked over to the group placing a floppy hat on Abigail, a pink fluffy thing and a tiara on Jiminy, and a purple bowtie around Regina's head. They all watched as she studied them for a minute before sitting at the table. She grabbed a tea cup and saucer for herself.

"Princess Emma, you're very late to the party. I'm sure your tea is cold by now," Jiminy teased.

Emma raised her chin and scoffed. "I's a pwincess. Me not late. Youse simpwy too soon."

Regina and Abigail busted out laughing. "She has you there. Royalty is never late. Their subjects are simply early. The party cannot start without the host," Abigail agreed.

They played tea party, but Emma ignored when the "dolls" talked to her. Regina found this amusing. Emma wasn't really a talker. She listened and nodded here or there, but kept pretty quiet.

"Baby, why don't you like the dolls? They just wanna play with you."

Emma looked her straight in the eye. "Dolls don't talk, Mama," the girl deadpanned. The look on her face clearly read that she should have known that.

"Oh, of course. silly me. Dolls don't talk." Regina wondered what the girl would do with one of those battery operated dolls that _did_ talk. She wanted to do a happy dance at Emma calling her mama, but she was being goofy enough without embarrassing herself further.

"Why did you give Jiminy the tiara?" Abigail secretly had been hoping the boa and the tiara would have been given to her.

"Youse and mama alweady have dem. Youse Pwincess Abbie. Mama is da onliest queen. Jimmy needs da cwown cuz he's not a pwincess."

Regina was impressed at the logic behind it.

Abigail pulled out the crayons and coloring books after an hour of playing tea party. The trio was surprised the toddler was writing in Elvish, but then again, the child was positively medieval, while they had come to modern English a decade ago. They spent a few hours teaching her the alphabet song and how to write the letters. Emma's ability to pick things up quickly worked well for them all, and soon the child could spell her name out.

Emma waited for Regina and Abigail to go start dinner before turning to Jiminy. He had started looking at something on some black box so she took her crayons over to the wall. Emma drew her and her new mama. She drew Danny too, but further away. She even signed her name. If they were going to paint her room all nice for her, she was going to draw a nice picture for her mama.

Regina walked back into the room after dinner prep was done. Jiminy was on his phone. She didn't see Emma until the girl appeared right in front of her, tugging on her wrist. She followed Emma over to the wall. Her jaw dropped at the image on it. Part of her wanted to be angry at ruining the wall, but she was also so touched.

It was beyond a normal child's stick figure drawing. Emma clearly had artistic talent. There was a little blonde girl with big green eyes wearing a spiderman outfit next to a tall brunette wearing a dress and a crown. The two were holding hands. Emma had written her name underneath it. It was completely precious.

"Emma, is that me and you?"

"And Danny, see, he's over here acause even do we's loved him, he's gonna leave and he's not touchy here. Yellow said da mommy is fambilly, but mommy is bad. Youse da mama though and youse nice so we's da fambilly."

Green eyes peered up at her expectantly. Regina was honestly so moved right now she had tears in her eyes. Emma mistook that for Regina being upset. She backed away. "Me sowwy. No huwt. Me be bettah."

Regina wiped her tears and took in Emma's raised hands in surrender. She pulled Emma close. The girl was stiff and uneasy in her arms. "Shh, baby. You're okay. I told you I'd never hurt you. I meant it. Mama is so happy. These are happy tears, not sad or angry. We are a _family_." Regina stressed the word so that maybe Emma would try pronouncing it right.

Emma simply nodded. "Me's never had fam-e-ly before. Is always me and Occhi afore. Da meanies said we's neber gonna get fam-e-ly cuz we weird. No one wants da weird ones. I weird?" Emma took extra care to try and pronounce the word correctly, hoping it was right.

Regina took a minute to process that Emma was referring to the people she met in foster care. "No, Emma. You're not weird. You're perfectly lovely. You'll always have a family with me!"

The pair hugged tight for a few minutes. "Em, I love that you drew for me. In the future we only draw on paper though, okay? Mama is going to use magic to put this on a piece of paper and then we can put it on the fridge."

"Wall paper?"

"No, Emma. Paper only, not wallpaper, not walls, not tables or floors. Nothing but paper."

Emma nodded quite seriously. She peered over at Jiminy who was still on his box. "What dat?"

Regina had to sit and explain what a cellphone was which lead to what Netflix was which lead to movies and TV shows, which lead to explaining the television. Emma shrieked at the TV shows and accidentally blew up the TV.

"Da peoples stuckded. Out, get dem out."

Abigail was laughing so hard at the girl's flailing arms and serious face that she had tears down her face. It was so precious.

"Baby love, there's no actual people inside the TV. It's just a box that shows you a moving picture of people who are filmed on camera. No one is trapped. I promise."

It took a half hour to convince Emma that no one was stuck in the phone or the television before Regina could calm her enough to have her fix the television. Regina easily could have fixed it, but she wanted Emma to learn that modern things weren't so scary and that actions have consequences. She couldn't get away with things just because she was cute and new to them.

Regina got Emma bathed and ready for bed fairly easy, easier than previous nights. She pulled out the story Love You Forever by Robert Munsch.

" _I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."_ Regina found that she truly meant the words she was reading to Emma. They'd barely known each other, and yet she loved Emma with her whole heart. Emma _was, no, is_ her baby, her daughter. She was a mom! Daniel had made that happen. She had a child with Daniel.

Regina kissed the little one's forehead as eyelids drooped over sleepy green eyes. Emma was curled up into her side, practically on top of her, middle and ring fingers in her mouth. "Love you, Mama," came a mumbled whisper before Emma fell asleep. To Regina, those were the best words in the entire world. She fell asleep happier than she'd ever been.

 **ESESESESESESESES**

hope you enjoyed.

up next: a town hall meeting over skype and emma's first mini tantrum


	6. Chapter 6

here's your update :)

i've been really busy this week :) i uploaded three new stories! THREE!

a rose by any other name is a dragon queen story with mal and regina being mommies to emma and lily.

mending the bond is very emma centric with mature, mommy!emma to little zelena

red wagon is a mommy!regina fic where emma is her biological child with daniel.

if you're interested at all, you should definitely check them out if you haven't yet. going to be starting a few new new ones that i hope to have up soon as well :) :) :)

beta fabulous RowArk.

 **ESESESESESESESESESESESES**

Regina tried hard to work from home and keep Emma safe at home from the townspeople, but she did have work to be done. Everyone felt that since they'd looked for the girl that they should get to meet her. People had tried to drop by the mayoral mansion, but Regina had only allowed Abigail, Jiminy, Graham, and Granny past her protection spell around the house. People had seen Pinocchio. She had to figure out a way to show them Emma without the girl freaking out.

Emma was currently on her phone facetiming Abigail while the woman was at work. She was telling the older blonde all about her new Granny because "she da nicest and Mama said she like her mama but better and she fam-e-ly. I like her lots. She made me cheesy sammy. Does she make you cheesy sammy too?"

Granny had come over a few times before when Emma had been napping. She'd become really close to Regina in the past four years. Even before Granny had noticed Regina become depressed four years ago, she'd been looking out and had a soft spot for the brunette. Regina had told her about failing to create a child with Daniel. Since then, Granny had gone above and beyond for Regina, truly becoming like the mother she'd always wanted. Today was the first time Regina had introduced Emma to Granny. The toddler was frightened at first, but one grilled cheese and a mini apron and chef's hat later and they were thick as thieves.

"Mama, Abbie says Gwanny make food for all people. We's not spetshul? She said we spetshul."

"Baby, we are special. We're the only ones Granny comes to see. Everyone else has to go to her restaurant for food. We're the only people Granny counts as family. You, me, and Ruby. Family is a very special thing!"

"Sorry Regina. So she likes Mrs. Lucas? What's wrong?" Abigail refocused her attention on the toddler that was making faces into the camera. It was the most childish thing she'd seen the girl do yet.

"The townspeople are demanding to see Emma, to have a town meeting. I know it'll be too much for her. What do I do?"

"Well, why not do what we're doing here? Why not have a video conference with them? You and Emma could stay at home. They wouldn't be near Emma, but they could still see her. You could address business and not worry."

"Abigail, you're a genius! I could just kiss you. Will you set up the town hall?"

Abigail chuckled at her friend's statement. "I think Fred might ask to watch if you kissed me. I'll set it up and make sure Ariel works it right."

Emma's jaw dropped. "Aweeuhl? Da muhmaid? She here?"

Regina covered her ears at the high pitched shouting. "Emma, sweetling, inside voice. Abigail doesn't need to actually hear you in the distance between our houses."

Regina spent some time going over with Abigail exactly what she needed done and what she wanted to address. She sent out a mass email calling for a town meeting in the morning. She set up her office with a laptop and webcam before going to play with Emma.

 **ESESESESESESESESESESESESES**

Regina put on dress pants and a dark purple blouse. She'd gotten her face on like she had if she were actually going to the office. Emma refused to change out of Regina's Harvard Law tee shirt she'd worn as pajamas the night before. Her curls were wildly mused from bedhead. Regina felt lucky the toddler had allowed her to clean tiny sticky hands and messy face before the meeting had to start.

Emma was playing in the livingroom when she got bored and missed her Mama. She took Toothless and walked into the study, fingers in her mouth. She paid no mind to the computer as she ran to Regina and flopped her head down onto the brunette's lap. Regina picked her up and the toddler buried her face in her neck. The toddler's interest was piqued when her mama started talking to somebody.

The little blonde carefully peered over her shoulder at the noise. There was a small television looking thing on the table with some letter things. Emma leaned back to look at Regina. "What dat?"

"This is a laptop. It's like a TV, but you work on it."

Emma turned and launched herself at the table, leaning in to inspect the laptop. The townspeople got a giant closeup of Emma's forehead as the girl went to touch the computer keys. Regina quickly grabbed Emma's hands. "Don't touch. I'm working. I need to talk to the people and I can't do that if you're touching."

"Mama, come play. Me needs you." Emma placed her hands on Regina's cheeks and rested her forehead to Regina's.

"Why is she calling you mama?"

Emma turned to face the voice. "Dis Mama. Danny say. Who you?" Emma leaned in again and they got a closeup of her eyes and nose. Emma had fun zooming her face in and out of the little picture of her on the laptop. She didn't realize the townspeople were seeing a giant version of this at the Town Hall.

Regina pulled Emma back a little and pointed to the camera. "Dear, they can see you but you have to stay back so they can see all your pretty face. Mama is trying to talk to them about business."

"No fun. We play."

"Emma, I can't play right now. I have to talk to the people. It's my job."

"Mama, da toys need me. I need youse. Come wif me!"

"I will in a little bit. I'm almost done."

Emma pouted up at her, little bottom lip sticking out. Regina could hear the townspeople commenting about Emma. What caught the toddler's attention was someone saying they should kill Snow. Regina hadn't seen someone spin around so fast.

"No! No kill. She just sad. She need hugs. Mama say so."

"Snow could have killed you, child. She left you in the woods alone and hungry and cold. She deserves it for her behaviour." A woman Regina recognized as Nicole spoke up. Nicole had been inside the castle walls as a maid. She'd known Snow and Emma firsthand and had gotten a pretty bad dose of Snow's darkness.

"Me say no! She mean and sad acause she miss David. No kill her. Youse be nice. Just acause she mean no mean you be mean. Youse be extra nice and maybe she no be mean no mores."

"She drove us to poverty!" "She caused us to starve out! My son died of exhaustion from no food and long work hours." "She killed all magic." "She deserves it!"

Regina listened to the townspeople getting amped up to riot. Emma surprised her though. The toddler slammed her hand down on the table. "Me say NO! You no be happy if you kill. Youse heart be sad. Me say be extra nice, so youse has to be. Me pwincess and me say goed. Be nice, no be mean!"

The brunette gathered her daughter as she burst into tears. "Shh, my baby love. They won't hurt her if they know what's good for them." Regina turned to glare into the camera. "You heard her. Princess Emma has declared you won't hurt Snow White. Murder is punishable by your own death here in this land. Leave her be. She needs to work through her issues. Be extra nice to her, even if you don't want to be. I will send Graham after you if you harm her."

"Why did she call you mama? You're the Evil Queen, the last person we'd expect to raise your enemy's baby. What's going on" Cinderella questioned.

"HEY! Dat my mama! No evil! She _so_ nice! Mama got me bed and toys and nummy foods. Pwincess Abbie say she my mama fuheber. Da man in da dwess whites it on paper so!"

Regina was startled by Emma's quick rush to defend her before she could even get a word out to answer. "Ella, Snow was still my family at one point. I went back to the forest four years ago to try for a child. Emma and Pinocchio were stuck there, frozen in time. _I_ am the reason she aged. I brought Daniel out of limbo to keep Emma's hopes of getting to a family up. Emma _chose_ me. I went to a judge and got approval to foster her. The paperwork is started for the adoption process. I really don't care if any of you have problems with that because her home is with me. I choose Emma. Emma chooses me. Hell, even _Snow_ chose me to go and get her."

"Why can't we see her in person? We've seen Pinocchio!"

"Me no like youse. Me no wanna see youse!"

"Emma! That's not nice." Regina frowned at the little girl before looking at the camera again. "I haven't taken Emma out because she doesn't do well in crowds. There were no people left in the forest. People hurt her in foster care. We had a group of six out there and she was afraid. Slowly but surely we will work up to being outside, but I need you to be patient. If you do see us out, don't rush over. Don't try and talk to Emma. Don't stare. She will come around on her own time. Just go about your day like normal. I promise as soon as she's ready to meet people she will."

Emma tugged on Regina's sleeve. "Play now Mama. No like dem. Me needs youse!"

Regina wrapped up the meeting as quickly as she could and went to play with Emma for the rest of the day. They played well past suppertime. She was about to go start dinner after hearing the little girl's stomach rumble, but Emma threw a fit, latching onto her and crying. Granny luckily sensed that Regina needed her, and she came walking in holding some grocery bags.

"I've left Ruby and Ella in charge of the diner. I know you needed some food. What do you want for dinner, Regina?"

"Some real food, please. I will be sick if I eat another grilled cheese or chicken soup."

"Me wants cheesy sammy!"

"Emma, we do not yell in the house. It's rude. I'm right here. Ask nicely." Regina didn't know what got into the toddler, but she didn't like it at all.

"Me wants cheesy sammy!"

The volume was a little lower but no less demanding.

"Sorry, child, but I don't take orders. You ask me nicely. I'm going to make you something new tonight. You want to help me?" Granny leaned down to stare directly into green eyes.

"No new! Me wants cheesy sammy!"

Regina was suddenly overwhelmed. This was her first tantrum. She was ill equipped to deal with it. Most mothers had time to learn. She'd only had a week. Her mother solved tantrums and discipline problems by using magic to punish. Regina knew she didn't want to be like Cora, but she had no clue what to do. She put Emma on the floor to better deal with this.

"Emma, that's naughty! We don't behave that way. You may not have a grilled cheese tonight. Granny said she's making something new. Now apologize and behave."

"NO! ME WANTS CHEESY SAMMY!"

The lights flickered and the house shook a bit. Emma was having a magical tantrum. Her arms swung wildly and her little foot stomped the floor. The toddler started to scream. Regina definitely didn't know what to do. Granny picked Emma up and swatted her backside once. The little girl was stunned into silence. "Child, your mama said you don't behave that way. If you don't act right I'm going to spank you again and you're going to calm down in your room. Understand?"

Tears flooded green eyes and Emma turned to launch herself at Regina. Regina honestly didn't know how she felt about spanking. It hadn't hurt Emma, of that she was certain, but it probably startled her which brought on the crying. Hopefully she wouldn't be put in a situation she needed to resort to that herself. "Emma, we use inside voices and ask nicely. Can you tell us you're sorry please?"

"So-sow-sowwy Mama. Me b-be good. Cheesy sammy!"

"No. Granny said she's making something new. You must try it. Do you want to help her in the kitchen?"

Emma buried her face in Regina's neck and wrapped her limbs around her tighter. "Seems I've got a koala again. I'm really sorry. I don't want to hurt her. She's been hurt so much by so many people already. I have never dealt with a tantrum before."

Granny smiled down at Regina and squeezed the woman's shoulder. "Relax, child. Ruby's had plenty of meltdowns. So has her mother. You just need to be firm. A tap to their little bums and your seriousness usually gets across. You'll learn as you go. Sometimes you let a child have it out and approach them later. Sometimes you spank them and fix it right away. Sometimes you get to talk them through or out of it. It depends. It's just a learning game that one only understands through experience. You've had a rough day. Want some wine?"

Emma clung to Regina all through Granny making dinner and the adults talking. She was going to throw another fit when Regina forcibly removed Emma from her body to wash up, but a stern look from Granny had Emma pouting and stomping away to wash her hands. The girl came back from the bathroom after ten minutes and ran to Regina.

"Me sowwy for not lisnen and shoutin' and bein' wude. Nice me now."

Regina bent down to look Emma in the eyes. "Thank you for apologizing. Later we're going to talk about why you were acting that way. Why don't you go say sorry to Granny and thank her for making dinner for us?"

Emma pouted before shuffling over to Granny, head down and hands clasped in front of her. "Sowwy me yell. Me try new nummies."

Granny smiled at the little one before hugging her. "Good job, Emma. Go ask your mama to seat you. It's time to eat."

Both Granny and Regina wondered what'd gotten into the child. Toddlers usually didn't explain what they were sorry for. They generally didn't know. Granny bet the girl didn't know why she misbehaved either. They looked up at Emma nodding over at the hallway. It was the first time Granny was seeing Daniel's ghost. Both women instantly knew he had talked to Emma. The older woman raised an eyebrow at Regina. "We need to talk about certain guests in your home, I see."

Regina quickly bent her head, suddenly consumed with eating her food. At least she'd gotten herself through the first tantrum, even if she wasn't sure she'd survive Granny's inquisition later.

 **ESESESESESESESESESES**

uh-oh! emma has magical tantrums. this should make future tantrums interesting. perhaps regina should start those magic lessons...

up next: dentist, panic attacks, and dreamcatchers


	7. Chapter 7

Shinigami: i tried looking for your name to PM, but there's 150+ options... belle is my favourite too

woo, who is ready for a bit of a rough day for our favorite little family?

beta fabulous RowArk

 **ESESESESESESESESESES**

Regina struggled to teach Emma how to brush her little teeth. She'd let Emma pick her own mini toothbrush, and she'd gone straight for the Toothless one. The girl was obsessed with her dragons. Emma seemed more content to stare at the brush instead of actually using it. Maybe the dentist would have better luck.

The pair walked into the best pediatric dentist's office around. Luckily for Regina it was only twenty minutes out of town. She could feel Emma begin to panic at the crowded office. "Shh, Little One. Mama's got you. You're safe."

Emma managed to stay relatively calm, locking her limbs around Regina in a death grip and burying her face in the woman's neck to avoid seeing so many people. Everything was fine until Emma noticed the assistant wearing scrubs. Little one thought she was about to get more shots at the doctor. The tears instantly started and Regina had to work hard to quell Emma's magic here. The machines and some stranger coming in the toddler's personal space had the girl panicked.

Regina carried a visibly upset toddler to the car. Emma was hyperventilating and sobbing. Thank the gods the dentist was only twice a year. She was about to drive away when she realized Emma was gone. The child had poofed herself somewhere, and Regina had no clue where. She was the one panicking now as she raced to Storybrooke.

Her phone rang just as she crossed the town line. Regina scrambled for the blasted device. Regina had no clue how to find Emma. Where would a child who didn't like people and didn't call any place home go? Graham, she needed Graham to help.

"What?" Regina shouted into the phone as she flew down the road.

"Uh, Regina, you okay?"

"No, Graham, I'm not. Emma's gone. You have to help me find her!"

"Yeah, listen, about that…"

Regina cut him off immediately. "About _what_ Sheriff? What's happened? Is Emma near you? Is she alright?"

"Well, I need you to come to the diner. I'm not sure what happened. One minute we were all inside eating and the next it sounded like someone was in a lot of pain. We were all thrown out of the diner. The door is locked with magic. I don't want to call Rumple."

"Don't do that! Just stay away from the diner. Tell people to go about their day. I'll be there in two minutes."

Graham knew Regina was flying down the road well above speed limits. She was liable to kill herself or someone else, but there was no way he was coming in between a mom and her child.

Two minutes exactly had passed before Regina came careening into a parking space. She jumped out of the car before it was even in park fully. Regina stopped just before the door. She could feel the magic radiating off it. Slowly she calmed herself before poofing inside, not bothering to deal with the door.

Granny looked up as the purple smoke cleared. Emma had appeared in the diner fifteen minutes ago sobbing and struggling to breathe. She'd heard people complaining and had seen the empty diner, but her concern was Emma right now. Granny had _just_ gotten her to calm down when Regina showed up.

"Nice timing. She just calmed down some. What happened?"

"I don't know, Granny. I had to take her to the dentist today and it didn't go well. She poofed away the second I stopped countering her magic. We were coming home. I don't- I'm not prepared for a magical child. She was literally just gone and I have no idea what I'd do if she wasn't here. I don't know how to find her."

Granny shifted the toddler to one hip and pulled Regina close with her free arm. "Shh, child. She's here and she's safe. Everything is going to be okay. You just need to set up some rules with her, maybe some magic lessons. I don't think she meant to come here, just to me."

"What happened?" Regina let her tears flow now that she could see her daughter was fine.

"Ruby was in the kitchen getting some food. Emma appeared and Ruby went to go towards her and your girl screamed bloody murder before magically pushing everyone out of the diner but me and her before locking the door. It was kind of amusing, but she was so upset. I know the dentist is important, but just give her a break for a while. She needs time to adjust to this world. We didn't have dentists in the forest. There were no hospitals. None of the amenities we have here existed. Let her get used to everything before you have her do things. Dentists and doctors are traumatic. Emma just needs _you_ right now. Everything else can wait."

Regina nodded. "I was so scared when she was just gone. I thought I'd lost my second chance. There's no third chances. Evil isn't supposed to get a happy ending. I was terrified. Thank you for keeping her safe!"

Granny handed the upset toddler over to her mom. Regina took a moment to just smell the baby shampoo and feel the warmth and weight of her child before she peppered kisses over every inch of Emma's face she could.

"Don't you ever do that to me again, Emma! You scared mama so bad! I thought I'd lost you. Mama doesn't know how to find you when you disappear like that. I love you! I know you were scared and unhappy, but it's my job to keep you safe. The dentist is scary, but she didn't hurt you. Mama won't ever let that happen, okay?"

Emma just locked her limbs around Regina and hid her face in the brunette's neck again. She'd worn herself out crying and using her magic. She just wanted her mama now.

"Let's go to your place. We can talk some more about these panic attacks and someone needs a n-a-p."

Regina looked out the window from the kitchen to the front of the diner. A lot of people were still milling about. She didn't want to subject Emma to that again or put her daughter in her car seat to drive home. She flicked her wrist to flip the sign to closed and poofed them to her house.

 **ESESESESESESESESESESES**

It'd taken twenty minutes of holding Emma and stroking her hair before the girl passed out. There was no way Regina was setting her down though. Her heart couldn't take any more disappearing acts. She needed to hold her daughter to know that she was safe.

"What's going on with Ruby, Regina? She's been depressed ever since you found Emma in the woods. She looked about to shatter into pieces when Emma screamed at her today."

Regina sighed and looked down at Emma before looking up again at Granny. "Ruby apparently made a promise to David to keep Emma safe. She thought Snow had killed the baby either before the wardrobe or sent her to die through it. Ruby may have imprinted on Emma just after she was born. I don't know why she did it, but she did. Now that she knows Emma is alive and doesn't want to be near her, the grief and pain she felt at thinking her gone is ten fold."

"That child, always getting herself into trouble. We both know Ruby though. She probably had the best intentions when she imprinted. Ruby has never taken who and what she is lightly. She wouldn't have put this on Emma if she had not felt forced. Is Emma okay from it? I can't smell anything odd about her."

"I don't know. No one imprints on children younger than seven for a reason. It kills them. My only guess at Emma surviving is because she has powerful magic. We're going to have to wait and see if anything happens in the future. Right now Ruby just has to live with the pain. Emma is terrified of everyone she doesn't know. She's afraid of Ruby because she tried to take her from me. She's also Snow's friend, or former friend. I think Emma might just be scared in general of anyone associated with helping her. I doubt everyone in town wants to cook their way into Emma's trust."

"Emma trusts me and I was once Snow's ally."

"True, but you've been looking out for me since we got here. You've been helping me with Emma. Emma trusts you because I trust you. I introduced you to her and assured her you wouldn't harm her. You're here almost every day. Ruby started off on the wrong foot. I've a feeling it's going to stay that way for a while."

"Maybe you should have Jiminy try talking to her? Panic attacks are scary and a bit difficult to manage without knowing the cause or effective ways to combat them. Even just learning some breathing exercises with him might help. I'm sure this won't be the only time it happens. Giving her magic rules and lessons won't prevent entirely human physiological responses to stress or anxiety."

Regina frowned but quickly grew concerned when Emma whimpered in her sleep. "Shh, angel. Mama's got you." She rubbed Emma's back until she calmed again. "Maybe. I'll talk to him about it. Emma knows him and likes him, but I don't want to ruin that by making her talk about things she's not ready to discuss yet."

"Does this mean you're not going to use the dream catcher on her?"

"I intend to, but I want to give it a while. I want her to trust me. I want her to want me to know instead of feeling she has to let me see."

"Occhi did, me too," a sleepy voice mumbled into Regina's chest.

"No, Em, not yet. Soon though you can. Go back to sleep."

Emma pushed herself up and looked into brown eyes. "Me do too! Occhi did, so me can."

Regina saw the fire and challenge in blue/green eyes. Emma wasn't about to back down from doing something her best friend had done successfully.

"You already got sad once today. I don't want you upset again. Maybe another day?"

"Mama now!"

"Maybe you should just do it now, Regina. You get this over with and you learn of her past. You learn some of what triggers her and you make her future the best it can be. Put the past behind her and move forward. You do this for both of you. With this out of the way, you can do the best possible for her in a way that works best for Emma. It's going to be good for the both of you. Go on, dear. I'll wait for you both. Granny's here for you."

Regina understood what Granny was saying, but she really didn't want Emma to have another meltdown. She didn't want her baby to relive such painful things.

' _Regina, she's telling you it's okay. She knows you think about all the bad that's happened to you too. Emma is strong willed. She want you to do this. She knows that it won't be fun or easy for either you or her. Pinocchio has a much milder version of memories than her. You'll both be okay though.'_

Granny looked up at Daniel's shimmery image before nodding. "Right then. You go use that dreamcatcher. I'm going to make you both a light meal. Do you need anything else done while I'm here?"

"If you could throw the clothes in the washer that'd be great. I've been meaning to get around to it, but I've been a bit busy."

Regina carried Emma upstairs and to her room. She'd set up a rocking chair in her bedroom as well as Emma's simply because she knew the toddler would be in her room as much as her own. Carefully Regina adjusted them so they were comfortable before producing the dreamcatcher.

"Emma, are you sure?"

Green eyes stared up at her. "Do it, Mama. I'm 'kay."

They both took a deep breath before Regina placed the dreamcatcher over the mass of blonde curls. She saw the years of being given the bare minimum care as a newborn for nine years. She saw the magic swirl around the newborn when she had gone back to the forest to try for Daniel's baby. Tears started coming when Daniel held infant Emma for the first time. Regina saw every lesson and felt every punishment from the faeries Emma had received. She saw and felt everything Emma had gone through in foster care, from the starvation to the beatings. She watched the few attempts made on Emma's innocence, and Regina had never felt angrier. Her heart felt like it'd shattered from the sheer force of Emma's emotions about Snow and being rejected. It helped to feel how safe and loved the little girl now felt with her though. It helped immensely that Emma loved her. They could get get through this. They would be the happiest little family, the two of them together.

Granny crept up the stairs after an hour and a half. She'd completed their laundry and picked up the first floor a bit. The picture on the fridge of Emma and Regina literally flooded her heart with joy. She had tried to be patient, but wanted to check on her girls. She found them both crying and holding onto one another. She walked over and kissed both on the top of their heads.

"Come on, darlings. It's time to eat something. No more tears. Just smiles moving forward."

Regina nodded, holding onto Emma tightly as she stood up. She wanted to keep Emma close. If it was the last thing she did, she vowed to make sure Emma never felt anything but love and safety again, that Emma knew she loved her completely. She read _Love You Forever by Robert Munsch_ again. That was going to be their thing, to start and end each day with the phrase, "I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." She kissed Emma's forehead as her daughter fell asleep in her arms.

Today was rough, pretty much a disaster, but it was over. Hopefully it'd be one of the most trying for some time to come. Daniel watched the two cuddled together in Regina's bed. If anyone deserved to be happy it was his girls. Emma sharing her most painful memories was huge. He was pleased they'd gotten through today's obstacles without his help. They'd need him for a while yet in the future, but today was all their own. His girls sharing 'I love you's' and affection was all he'd ever wished for after being brought back.

 **ESESESESESESES**

hope you enjoyed. bit of a rough ride for emma and regina today.

up next: day at the office, day at daycare, talk with granny.


	8. Chapter 8

who is ready for little emma to venture out into the world a bit? it's here!

 **ESESESESESESESESESESESESESES**

Regina sighed and stared down at the blonde cuddled into her. Today was the first day she was taking Emma into the office with her. She had come up with a schedule with Granny's help to try and get Emma acclimated to the town. For three weeks she was going to bring Emma to the office four days a week and spend one day with Emma at the daycare. The next three weeks she was going to do three days at the office and two days at the daycare. The step after that was going to be getting Emma to stay at daycare without her. Regina didn't know if she was ready for this. She didn't know if Emma was ready for this, but they were going to find out.

Emma was surprised her mama was up so early. She watched amused as the brunette frantically ran back and forth between the closet and the bathroom. She climbed down from the bed and followed her mama as she moved around the room.

"Oh, Emma! Sweetling, don't follow so closely. Mama could have hurt you. Go to the bathroom. Get ready for the morning." Regina nearly tripped over the preschooler, entirely unprepared for the girl to be on her heels.

The little blonde raced to get ready for the morning, grabbing her Toothless hoodie and her jeans. Regina found her daughter huffing and getting angry at not being able to get the button on the pants done up. She chuckled to herself before going over and helping her. "Emma, do you have a shirt on under the sweatshirt? You might get too hot in that. We're going to be inside my office."

"Why? No go! Stay home with me!"

Regina's heart sang with joy at Emma calling this home. "I wish we could, baby love, but mama has a lot of work to catch up on. I need to work from the office. You get to be my special helper. You also get to meet Ariel, my assistant, in person. She's so excited to finally meet you," she informed as she put a red tee shirt on Emma before putting the hoodie back on the girl.

Getting Emma fed and ready to go took longer than Regina expected. She arrived to the office a half hour late, holding Emma who had her face buried in Regina's neck. Regina had tried to encourage her little one to walk up the steps on her own, but Emma was having none of it. The building's sheer size was enough to make Emma rethink coming here.

"Morning, Mayor Mills. Coffee is on for you. The files on your desk are sorted from most important to least, and your phone messages are on top of the files. Need anything else right away?"

"A clone. No, thank you, Ariel. I'll get right on with everything. I'll let you know if I need anything. Granny will be stopping here during lunch to bring some food. Make sure you call her and place your order before then. It's on me today."

Emma watched her mama go through bunches of paper and write on them. "Mama, why you praticing writing?"

"I'm signing documents for things the town needs. You want to help me?"

Granny found Emma furiously scribbling her name on papers, mirroring her mother's actions on actual town papers. "Well aren't you two just precious? Take a break from saving the town and eat some lunch."

"Gwanny! Me giving eveyone cookie day! Mama said so acause my name on it! See, Emma!" The girl ran over to Granny, showing her the latest piece of paper Emma was working on.

Granny admired the picture of the cookies all over the page. It did indeed have Emma's name on it. "So good, Princess! I guess I'd better be making lots of extra cookies if everyone gets them." She stayed and talked to Regina a bit before going to talk to Ariel. Emma followed her.

"Who this? You mine, Granny!"

The older woman chuckled at the possessiveness of the little girl who walked over and latched tightly onto her leg. "This is Ariel, Little One. She is a mermaid. You remember your mama telling you she works here? This is where she works."

"For Mama?"

"Yes, for your mama. Do you want to say hi to her?"

The little blonde hid her face behind Granny's leg, shaking her head no.

"I love your sweatshirt, Emma. Is that a dragon?"

Emma peered cautiously past the pant leg she was gripping and up to the red headed woman. She was smiling at her. Maybe she was okay? "Dis Toothless. He a night fuhwy. His tail a little funny, but he's good. He pwotects people. I love nice dragons. Do you love dragons?"

This seemed to be the deal breaker questions. Both Ariel and Granny knew this. "Yes, I think dragons are very cool. We have sea dragons that live underwater in Atlantis. They're very nice to me."

"Me Emma. You okay." Emma announced before running back to her mama.

Granny smiled at the mermaid, knowing that'd just made some progress with Emma. The next few days Emma mostly stayed with Regina in her office. She said hi to Ariel in the morning, talked to her when Granny went to leave after lunch, and said good bye when she left. Regina was proud of her progress. One person was a small step in the right direction.

 **ESESESESESESESESESESES**

"Emma, get out of the cabinet. This is not what you do when you are upset. Please, we need to go."

"I no go! No!"

"Emma, mama is coming with you. I will be with you the whole day. We're just going to go and play with the other kids your age. It's going to be marvelous. You'll see. You can bring Toothless. Come on out. We must go."

"Why? No want to! Please don't make me!"

Emma's sobs broke Regina's heart, but a day at the daycare wasn't going to hurt her. She managed to pull Emma out of the cabinet and got her dressed in jeans and a long sleeved purple shirt that had a crown on it. They were late to the daycare. Having Emma seemed to drastically change her schedule, forever late now instead of twenty minutes early.

The blonde clung tightly to Regina as the woman walked into the daycare, arms and legs locked in a death grip so fierce she almost had to pull Emma back to avoid choking. Emma had her face buried in her mama's neck. There was too much noise and too many people. It felt like the dentist all over again.

Regina tried to get Emma to interact throughout the day with any of the toys there or any of the kids, but the toddler wasn't budging from her hiding spot against her neck. The first time she got Emma to turn around was when it was lunchtime. She made sure to sit far enough away from the other kids that Emma wouldn't be worried. Thankfully the peanut butter and jelly sandwich got the girl's attention. She was shocked when Emma reached for a carrot stick instead on the sandwich. Daniel's information about what she was fed came flooding back.

Emma eyed the other children warily as she held tightly onto Regina's shirt with one hand and used the other to eat her food. Regina moved them to their own little corner after lunch and played at the sensory table with Emma. One half was rice the other half was water. Emma was fascinated with throwing water down the funnel to make a wheel on a toy spin.

"Mama, toilet."

"You have to go to the bathroom? It's right around the corner. You can go."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"You go too! Need you."

"Emma, you go to the bathroom by yourself all the time at home. It's no different here. You'll be okay."

"Mama! Come too! You gonna leave me if I go me own."

"Oh, that's the problem. I promise I won't leave you. You can go. I'll be right here when you're done."

"MAMA COME WIT ME!"

The noise in the room stopped as the rest of the kids turned to look at them. Regina felt embarrassment flood her cheeks with colour. "Okay, I'll go with you and stand right outside the door by the sinks, okay?"

Regina carried Emma to the bathroom door and set her down. Emma stood clinging to her leg, staring across the room at the row of toilets. "So many flushes." The awe in the little voice unmistakable.

"No, we don't flush anything down the toilet that isn't supposed to. Don't think I haven't noticed you keep trying at home to flush things you are not supposed to. Now go to the bathroom. I'll be standing here the whole time."

Emma made no move to leave Regina so the woman had to walk Emma over to a doorless stall and detach her hand. Emma stood glued to the spot Regina left her in, staring at the brunette as she walked back to the door. Regina watched the little bathroom dance grow more desperate until Emma finally disappeared into the stall.

"Mama here?"

Regina laughed. It felt good to be needed like this, to be loved this much. "Yes baby love, mama is still here. I promise I'm not leaving."

"Oh… you _still_ here?"

"Yes, Emma."

Three seconds ticked by. "Still here?"

"Emma, go to the bathroom."

"Me going. I make sure you no leave me. Tell me story."

Regina started telling a story she was making up as she went about Toothless the dragon's adventures in the Enchanted Forest until Emma had washed and dried her hands. Emma didn't ask to be picked up again. That was something. She took the little girl's hand and walked back to their table. They played with playdough until it was naptime. Regina magicked Emma a nap mat and a pillow. While the kids slept, she talked to the teacher as she still set about crafting things with the dough.

Abigail had gone to Regina's office to talk to her about the upcoming town meeting only for Ariel to remind her that it was daycare day. Abigail hadn't been sold on starting the little one in daycare so soon, especially after having her disappear after the dentist. Regina was her mother though, and she didn't have much say in what happened to her mini. She walked through the doors to the daycare only to find her best friend elbow deep in playdough, all the children asleep.

Both the teacher and Regina startled at the barks of laughter coming from the hallway. "Please keep it down! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get preschoolers to nap?"

Abigail apologized to the teacher before whipping her phone out to take a picture of Regina. "This is for ammunition later on. You having fun playing, Madam Mayor?"

Regina blushed furiously and looked down at her creations before shrugging. "You know what? I am. I am really enjoying this. We never got these luxuries growing up. If my child is to learn with them and play with them, I'm going to learn and play right along. I am going to know everything she does. I won't have the mistake of letting her do something or see something that isn't safe."

"Whoa! Easy mama bear! I know you're going to rock this mommy gig. You already do. I mean, Emma _is_ sleeping after all."

The three adults looked down to the sleeping toddler who was clutching her dragon toy for dear life, her fingers of her other hand in her mouth. Regina did indeed feel proud. The day was almost over and Emma had made it through so far without any tantrums or meltdowns. It wouldn't seem much to other people, but it was huge to Regina, and it was huge to Abigail too.

Abigail sat at the tiny table with the equally tiny chairs and discussed the next town meeting and what to do with Emma. They didn't notice Emma waking up until the sleepy toddler crawled into Regina's lap and snuggled up again.

"Hi, Little Princess. How are you? Do you like daycare?"

Emma shook her head no. "Miss Ari. She play me dragon shows on TV. No be here. Mama gon leave me. She no come back."

"Oh Em, baby, your mama isn't going to leave you, not ever. She loves you so much. I love you so much! No one would let your mama ever think about letting you go away. If you leave, you come to me. I'll always take care of you. Your mama though, she's the best there is. She would even fight ten thousand dragons for you."

A tiny jaw dropped open. "Only the mean ones wight? Toothless good and me love him. No fight him."

"Precious heart of mine, I will never ever send you away. I am _not_ Snow. I love you. You are mine and I am yours. Forever and always."

"Auntie Abbie, Mama and I played in the water table and we ate nummies and we played dough. Mama the best at playing."

Abigail laughed. "I can just see it now. The front page story in tomorrow's paper, _Mayor Mills plays in sensory table all day. Meanwhile, town in shambles, important paperwork growing dust_."

"Abigail, you will not!"

Emma tugged on Regina's sleeve until her mama looked at her again. "Kiss kiss."

Regina chuckled. It was entirely Abigail's doing that Emma randomly asked for kisses and cuddles. She'd taught Emma how to do this, more often than not to get something she wanted. She leaned down and gave Emma a kiss before kissing all over her face. "Love Emma."

"Love Mama!"

Abigail stayed the rest of the day with Regina and Emma playing by themselves in the corner. They colored, played more in the sensory table, and joined in during music time from their seats.

 **ESESESESESESESESES**

Granny was helping Regina clean up her house after she had put Emma to bed that night. She loved spending time with her girls. She was thrilled the slow integration into town was going so well. She was worried about one thing at the moment though.

"Regina, we need to talk about your friendly house ghost."

The brunette paled. "What about him?"

"Well, first off, who is he? Why is he here? Why does Emma talk about some man who is never around? You dating someone without telling me?"

"What? No! You think that if I haven't dated in twelve years that I'd start now when I've got a magical medieval toddler to take care of?"

"Well then?"

Regina sighed. "His name is Daniel. He's the ghost of my first love. My mother killed him and forced me to marry Leopold. I apparently brought him back when I tried to use what enchanted objects of his I had left to make a child. He brought Emma to me. She's here because of him, so please don't hate him. He brought me our child. He's as much Emma's parent as I am. He's been with her the entire time I wasn't there for her. I already have one mother who hated him. I couldn't bear if you did too."

"Child, I don't hate him. I'm merely concerned what happens when he disappears. Spirits aren't meant to be in the land of the living. Emma clearly is incredibly attached. What of it when he has to move on? Emma will be devastated. I know you two talk. You told me tales of the stable boy. What of your well being when he has to leave you again? It's nice to pretend he's here again and you're a family, but he's not here. You cannot make a life with a ghost."

"I- well, I haven't thought that far." Regina hadn't even bothered to deal with the fact Daniel was going to leave. She'd been so happy he was with her again. Emma loved talking to Daniel, and seeing them interact was so heartwarming. She'd taken magical photographs of them together so Emma would never forget him. She didn't want to think about there being a day Daniel was no longer seeing Emma's life.

Granny pulled Regina into her lap. "Shh, sweetheart. Don't cry. I'm just trying to prepare you and to be prepared for Emma's meltdowns. She's going to be losing another person she views as a parent."

' _If I may, I have no intentions of leaving Regina and Emma until they're both fully acclimated to each other and are ready to be their own little unit without my help. I'm pleased at their fast progress, but there's a lot they've yet to both deal with. There's a lot of trials they have to get through before they're ready to be on their own. There's a lot Regina and I have to talk about. I won't leave suddenly or without making sure they're okay. Regina gaining a support system is part of the equation for being ready to go. I won't just abandon them. I'm not here to hurt them. I'm here because Fate determined me best to bring my girls together. They're safe with and from me.'_

The women looked up at Daniel's image. "What things do you have to talk about? Why haven't you done so yet? They're too attached to you. They're both going to be devastated when you have to go. They're _my_ girls, and I am looking out for them."

Daniel smiled at her. ' _Yes, I can see how you take care of them, in ways I can't. I'm grateful for that, but these are my girls too. I've been with Emma since she started aging from a newborn. I was with Regina for a while. I haven't talked to Regina about things yet simply because it isn't time. You can't rush fates, Mrs. Lucas. I won't leave them until they're in a space to handle it. It's why the support system, why you, are so key.'_

"Boy, call me Granny. Mrs. Lucas makes me feel old.

Regina smiled, wiping at her tears. Having the woman she viewed as a mother accept Daniel helped heal her heart a bit at what she'd lost the first time around. Telling Daniel to call her Granny meant she liked him. That's all she'd wanted from her mother, acceptance of her love back then. Her love was Emma now. She didn't know or think she'd ever have another significant other again, but having Emma in her life was more than enough.

 **ESESESESESESESESESES**

awe, Granny approves of Daniel. Regina finally has a mother figure that adores her first love.

isn't emma just the cutest little thing?!

i found a pic on pinterest of the evil queen on top of toothless with the caption "Once: How to train your Maleficent" and i feel like it would be PERFECT for this cover, but i just LOVE this little one in her Lil Queen hat. let me know which one you prefer.


	9. Chapter 9

"Mama, why go daycare more? Me like Miss Ari. She has sea dragon."

"I know baby, but Mama's office is for boring, hard work. Daycare is for fun playtime. You like fun playtime. It's going to be okay. Mama is going with you."

Emma pouted at her. "For now. Danny said me has to go all the days by myself. You leave me. No want me eadder."

Regina squatted down to be eye level with the toddler, grabbing little hands in her own. "Emma, I am not leaving you. When you get bigger, you're going to have to go to school by yourself. Soon you will have to go to daycare by yourself. Right now, I'm still coming with you. When my work day is over, mama is going to come get you. I'm not leaving you, Emma. You are mine."

"No want dis. No more daycare."

"You have to go, sweetling. Pinocchio goes to summer school all day. He goes home to his papa every night. I won't make you go to daycare alone until you're ready. It'll be okay."

"Lessons? You put Occhi in lessons? He be hurt if he don't know. Why you do dis?"

"Emma, sweetheart, we do not punish children here for not knowing things. The teachers will help him know all he has to. He is perfectly fine."

Green eyes widened in shock. "A child who don't know dey lessons is a bad child and must be hurt."

Regina frowned. The phrase was clearly one that the faeries had instill in her. Perhaps they instilled this in Pinocchio too. She'd heard the boy was terrified of school.

"How about we go play in the park this weekend with Occhi and Geppetto? You can see for yourself that he's alright."

"Park?"

"Yes, the park. It's near the woods and has a playset, slides and swings. You can run around and play together. It'll be fun."

"Me do miss Occhi."

"I know you do, baby. Tell you what, we can call and invite them to the park _after_ you have a good day at daycare. You play with the toys and maybe some of the kids. If you can try and have fun at daycare, we can call Pinocchio."

"Dats naughty. Me play Occhi 'nyway."

Regina tried hard not to laugh. Her daughter was far too smart. "Fair enough, but you have to try to have fun today. If you give it a chance, you'll find you might like it."

Emma pouted up at her as Regina got her dressed.

"Put that lip away, duckling. When we get home tonight, we can watch Lilo and Stitch. Does that sound good?"

"He me favourite after Toothless. We popped corn to?"

"It's popcorn, honey, and yes. We can have a small bowl of popcorn to watch our movie."

Regina took Emma to daycare after making sure Emma had her Toothless doll. Her daughter never went anywhere or did anything without that toy. She certainly couldn't spend the day at daycare without it.

Emma clung to Regina all day. She did not like daycare. The other kids were too noisy. There were simply too many of them. If Emma had her way, she'd simply spend every day with her mama.

With encouragement from the teacher, Regina slowly inched her way closer to the other children and joined in activities with them. Even if Emma didn't join in, she was at least closer to the kids.

It was two days before a child dared approach Emma. Regina had Emma colouring at a table not far from the other kids. A little girl wearing a teal dress with long, out of control red curls and bright blue eyes stepped up to the side of Emma.

"Hi! I am Merida. You wike dwagons too?"

The little girl went to touch Emma's toy, and Emma yanked it away.

"Dis mine. No touch!"

"Emma! That isn't very nice. I'm sure your new friend wasn't going to take it. She was just telling you that she likes dragons too."

Emma eyed the girl skeptically. Regina watched, amused, as the two sized each other up. Blue eyes stared into blue eyes for long minutes and Regina was sure that this meant they didn't like each other.

"Dis Toothless. He mine. Miss Ari has sea dragon. Stitch almost dragon. Who you like?"

"Toothless good. Mawefcent da best."

The blonde's tiny jaw dropped. "Whoa! She here? We get dragon rides?"

Merida shrugged. "Me neber been on dwagon wide. I been on bear wide in da woods afore."

"Dat you? What you do on bear? Dey could eat you."

"No. Mama can be bear. She won't eat me. Dey won't hurt you. Want wide?"

Emma turned to look up at Regina. "Meri say me ride bear. Me go, 'kay?"

"Oh, well if Meri says, far be it from me to say no." Regina teased, tickling Emma's tummy and earning the rich sound of giggles.

"I think I need to talk to Merida's mother about it first. Maybe you can ride a bear if it's safe."

"Mama, Mawefcent here? We be fwiends?"

Regina's eyebrows skyrocketed in surprise as she tried to think up something to tell Emma.

"She lives here with her daughter. I think they went on a trip far away at the moment though."

Both girls' faces fell. It broke Regina's heart a bit to see them so upset by the news.

"Wiwy, we apposed to be fwiends. Snow tried to hurt her. Maybe me say sowwy and dey come back?"

"Snow tried to hurt a child?" The second the words were out of her mouth, Regina realized her mistake. Of course Snow would hurt a child. The evidence of this now called her mama.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma and hugged her, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Emma. So she hurt Lily? Why?"

"She try. Afore my daddy died, dey think me bad, so dey try to make Wiwy bad for me. It no work. Wiwy got hurted. Faeries no make you know? Me so bad!"

"Emma, my sweetling, you are absolutely not bad! You are the best little girl! Maybe if Mal and Lily come back, we can sit down and talk to them. They won't be mad at you. It's not your fault Snow did that. Now, did you want to invite your new friend to colour?"

Emma sighed and considered this for a few seconds. Merida took her own initiative and sat down in the chair next to them, pulling a colouring book over. Emma passed her a green crayon.

The girls coloured in companionable silence for a while before Merida pulled Emma over to the playdough. Emma held tightly onto Regina as Merida dragged the little blonde all over, trying to create a make believe town from the little presses and tools available.

"Me hungwy. Wish dough was snacks."

A wave of her hand and Emma conjured up a table full of edible snacks that Merida had created from dough. When the other children saw food, they swarmed the table. Emma's protection shield surrounded her and Regina, transporting them to a far corner of the room away from all the chaos.

Regina sighed. Things had been going so well. Of course Emma's first friend would be a little rebel. She could just tell there'd be a lot of future trouble the two would get into together.

She waited much longer than she normally stays at the daycare to meet Merida's mother, this Elinor. Regina gave the woman her business card and told her to call her so they could talk about the girls. She introduced Emma before taking her home to watch Lilo and Stitch yet again.

 **ESESESES**

Saturday rolled around and Emma had gotten up at quarter to five in excitement.

"Mama! Mama up! Me play wit Occhi today! MAMA! NEED GET UP!"

Regina pulled her daughter down onto the bed to prevent her from bouncing around or prying open her eyelids anymore.

"Emma, I can already tell that the sun isn't even up yet. That means that Pinocchio and his father are not up yet. Go back to sleep for a few more hours. We will get up when it is proper time. If you're awake now, you'll fall asleep before you can play with Occhi."

"Ugh! Mama, me needs up. Occhi likes to play in the morning. Gots to hurry!"

"I said no, Emma. Your friend is asleep. Wait until my alarm goes off. That will be time to get up and start the day to go play. Please, sleep!"

Her alarm clock was blaring the next instant, startling her upright.

"Emma! That isn't funny! Do you need a time out? You're not going to play with Pinocchio a minute before I said we were going."

Regina placed a spell around her room to keep Emma in. She knew Emma. If let roam free while she slept, Emma would find all sorts of things to get into trouble with. Hopefully she'd just go back to sleep. If not, at least Regina would get a few more hours in.

The brunette awoke to Emma using her magic to repeatedly change into different outfits, a mess of toys scattered all over the floor. Sighing, Regina got out of bed and got started on her day. Just after breakfast, she took Emma to the park to play.

Geppetto walked over with Pinocchio ten minutes later.

"Why are there no other kids?"

"You're late. Emma has been anxiously awaiting Pinocchio since four in the morning. I sent out an email telling the town that the park was booked today for a private event. Emma has yet to play at a park. She doesn't want to play on the one at daycare. I figured this way they get to play and explore something new without the pressures of being around a bunch of other children."

"How is she doing?"

"Emma is okay. She's adjusting. We tend to have issues at mealtimes. I give her something new to try, and she magics herself soup and bread. She made her first friend at daycare, despite our fights every morning I take her there. Emma doesn't like company. How is Pinocchio?"

"Good, he is good. I have to be careful with what he eats. He will eat anything in sight. He does not like summer school. My boy is terrified to be punished for not knowing his lessons. He studies the books so hard, I don't think he enjoys it at all."

"They were harshly punished for not knowing things back home. I'm sure I'm going to have that problem myself when it comes time for Emma to go to school. Granny suggested Jiminy talk to them."

"My boy, he does not want to talk about what happened. He screams in his sleep, but he never tells me. He only tells to Emma."

"Emma doesn't talk much about what happened either, at least not directly. Perhaps they could both benefit from Jiminy."

The pair watched as Pinocchio led Emma around, teaching her how to play on the jungle gym. Regina noticed that every few minutes or so, Emma would glance at her. She never moved out of a direct line of sight from Regina.

The kids played until lunch, stopping just long enough to eat their meal, before they were back running around. Regina was happy that Emma was at least playing.

"Mama! Me needs help!"

Regina walked over to the pair who were staring at the swings.

"Make dem go."

"What do you say?"

"Pwease make dem go. What dey do?"

"They're swings. You sit on them and pump your legs. It's almost like you're flying. It goes higher and higher the more you move your legs."

Emma looked down at her legs.

"Nooo. Me legs too little. You fix?"

Regina helped put Emma and Pinocchio onto the swings.

"Hold tight to the chains. I'll push you. Occhio, you can probably pump your legs once you're high enough to keep going."

The kids held on tightly as Regina started pushing them on the swings. Pinocchio caught on quickly and moved his legs to keep himself going. Emma twisted her upper body around to stare at Regina every time her swing slowed down.

"Keep me going, Mama! Me do like Occhi."

Geppetto walked over and stood nearby, not wanting to feel like the outsider here. Emma and Pinocchio were determined to swing the remainder of their time at the park, Regina helping push them both to keep momentum going.

Geppetto left with Pinocchio around three. Emma was still playing when they left. Regina watched closely, taking in all the wonder on her daughter's face.

Emma had enjoyed her day playing with Occhi. She'd missed him a lot since finding a family. This playground thing wasn't so bad, at least with Occhi. She climbed and climbed, like she used to climb trees, all the way up on top of the slide.

A bunch of kids were gathered around some silver thing in the grass. They were using some sort of large stick to hit something and send it soaring. Emma watched for a bit from her perch before poofing herself to the edge of the playground to watch them further.

Regina noticed instantly when white smoke enveloped Emma from the stop of the slide. She panicked for a few minutes until she noticed Emma standing on the border of the playground. She got up and edged closer, noticing that the little blonde was watching a tee ball game.

Emma felt her mama come to stand a few feet behind her. Together they watched the kids play. Regina watched as green eyes widened in wonder. Perhaps tee ball would be good for Emma.

"Mama, what dey do?"

"They're playing tee ball. See the white squares in the dirt? Those are called bases. The team hitting steps up to home base and tries to hit the ball. If they hit it, they run around the bases to try and get back home. The team in the field tries to get the ball and get them out."

"Why?"

"Because it's fun."

Emma grew silent again, studying the kids. They seemed to be happy, even if she didn't understand the purpose of this game. Maybe Occhi would play with her.

Regina watched the longing grow on Emma's face. She knew her daughter wasn't ready to join in something that had so many other kids, but sports and exercise were important. Maybe next summer Emma would be ready to join in. She could be a soccer mom. The thought had her face splitting into a grin. She wouldn't wait!

She poofed a ball and two gloves into her hand.

"Emma, would you like to play catch?"

"Catch?" Emma frowned at the word, testing it out on her tongue.

"Yes, we toss a ball back and forth to each other. It's part of tee ball, like those kids playing would do during practice."

"A ball? Pwatice? Like pwatice whiting?"

"Sort of like practicing your writing, yes. In tee ball you practice throwing, catching, hitting, and running."

Blonde brows furrowed in thought. "Why you pwatice run? Sometin bad come for you?"

"You practice running so when you hit the ball, you can run real fast around the bases so you don't get out."

Emma took the little glove handed to her and examined it, flipping it over and over.

"No magic?"

"No, you can't use magic in this game. Do you want to play catch?"

Emma nodded and handed Regina the glove, unsure what to do with it. Regina put it on her little hand before putting hers on. She showed Emma how to close the glove around the ball to catch it before carefully tossing the ball to Emma.

"Me did! Me catched! You see Mama?" Emma jumped around in excitement after her first successful attempt at catching the ball.

"I did see, baby. You did so good! Can you throw it back to mama now?"

"No! Mine!"

"Emma, in order to play, you must throw me the ball. We can take it home. It'll be yours, I promise. We share, remember?"

The little one frowned and stared at the ball before rearing back and throwing the ball to Regina. The brunette had to bend to catch the ball, it being thrown at toddler height. Emma was definitely a ball player if her stinging palm was anything to judge by.

They played catch until the sun was starting to set.

"Mama, we go home! Gwanny coming now! Me tell her alls me do today!"

Regina chuckled as Emma grabbed her hand and practically dragged her for a block. She noticed Emma tiring out about halfway there, so she picked her up and poofed them home.

"Gwanny! Guess what me do today!"

The brunette smiled as her daughter and the woman she viewed as a mother interacted. This was her little family now, and she was positive her heart had never been happier. Smiling, Regina walked over and joined the pair in making dinner as Emma regaled her entire day.

 **ESESES**

' _Emma was right about Snow trying to hurt Maleficent's daughter.'_

Regina jumped in shock. She'd been reading in her bed after having put Emma down for the night.

"Daniel, you need to stop scaring me! You're going to give me a heart attack!"

' _I told you, it's not your time. I apologize for scaring you. Now, about Maleficent...'_

 _"_ Yes? What about her?"

' _She holds a grudge against Snow for what she tried to put her daughter through. I don't know if that grudge extends to Emma or not. Please be careful!'_

"What happened? I vaguely remember this Lily. She seems fine."

' _Snow and David kidnapped Lily while she was in her egg and tried to force Emma's potential for darkness into her.'_

"My baby isn't dark though. Her magic is the lightest thing I've ever seen or felt."

' _True, but they weren't about to chance their baby being dark. Snow and David didn't understand that **everyone** has the potential for good or darkness inside them. It's in the way you're raised as to how you'll behave.'_

Regina sighed and put aside her book.

' _I didn't mean you, Regina. Despite all that Cora did to you, you still have so much good in you, so much light. Emma is going to have her moments of bad decisions, but she wants to be good. Emma chooses to be good. I know that with your guidance, Emma is going to prosper. I can't say she'd be the same wonderful little duckling if she was with Snow and David.'_

"They're idiots. Snow was a horrendously selfish, petty child. She grew up a bit because I kept trying to kill her. I forced her into the woods and to learn how to survive. I won't let Emma follow down my path or Snow's."

Daniel smiled at his love. ' _I know you won' is why she's with you, Regina. You're Emma's best chance. I just want you to be careful in allowing Emma and Maleficent near each other. She is in love with dragons. I'm surprised she hasn't conjured one up yet as a pet. Mal is a giant, terrifying dragon. I don't want Emma in harms way or frightened by her or this Lily.'_

"They're on vacation. I don't know when or if they'll be back."

' _They're dragons, Regina. They need to fly, and can only do that in Storybrooke. Maleficent and Lily will be back. Emma and Merida will do whatever they can to try and get close to them. A bear is easier to control than a dragon.'_

Regina nodded. "I'll keep them safe. Can you believe Emma finally made a little friend?"

He smiled brightly at her. ' _I've no doubt that once my duckling becomes more comfortable in her feathers, she's going to spread her wings so wide you'll wish she was stuck to you again.'_

"I am -she's -thank you for protecting her and bringing her to me. Emma has made me so incredibly happy."

 _'You deserve to be happy, Regina. You deserve all the happiness in the world.'_


	10. Chapter 10

unbeta'd. all mistakes are my own fault

 **ESESES**

Every day since first watching the tee ball practice, Emma had poofed herself to the park to watch the other kids as she hid among the trees. Regina had panicked the first few times she'd disappeared. Once Regina found Emma, she watched the girl watch practices in longing.

' _She wants to play. Why don't you sign her up?'_

"Because she isn't ready. When she's ready, Emma will ask me. Right now I'm lucky she talks to Merida at daycare. It's taken her this long to make one friend, Daniel. I'm not going to force her into being around a dozen or so when she's clearly not comfortable enough yet."

' _She's scared, Regina. Emma needs a push. Go ahead and sign her up. She won't get there on her own. She's too stubborn.'_

"No! I refuse to push her. She's not ready for this!"

' _You pushed her to go to the doctor. You pushed her at the dentist. Daycare, the office… Emma needs to be pushed to interact with other kids otherwise she's going to keep sitting back and relying on your presence and not interact with any other children! I'm telling you she will be fine!'_

Regina found herself angry at Daniel for the first time in her life. She didn't know what his problem was, but he wasn't actually here to take care of Emma. She was, and she wasn't going to force interactions on Emma if she wasn't ready.

"The dentist and the doctor are necessary evils in this world, especially with Emma. I take her to the office and daycare to learn to start adjusting to people. Emma will come around on her own time. Forcing it will only make her resent others and not ever want to interact."

' _Emma dislikes, distrusts, almost everyone. Her talking to Merida proves she's ready to be with more kids. You have to encourage her. She will never do it if you are always there to give her an out.'_

"Daniel, she's barely spent a month here! I'm not going to force her into a sport if she isn't even comfortable talking to Merida without me there. I'm her mother, and I'm saying she's not ready."

' _I'm saying she is!'_

Emma walked into Regina's office. She'd been watching Dragon Tales with Miss Ari when she heard shouting.

"Mama? Danny! You mad? Me bad?"

Regina glared at Daniel's apparition before kneeling down to be eye level with Emma.

"No, sweetheart! You aren't bad. Danny and I were just having a difference of opinion. Sorry if we were being too loud. Are you excited to play with Merida today?"

Emma glanced between them completely unsold that they were just talking. She knew enough about fighting and loud voices to know they were angry at each other.

"You mad acause me?"

Daniel instantly regretted forgetting that his duckling was in the other room. The look of devastation on her face, and now seeing the hurt and anger in Regina's eyes, made him feel like an utter ass.

' _No, Ducky! It wasn't because of you.'_

Emma pushed his shimmery form away from her as he tried to comfort her. Her lie detector went off like crazy at Daniel's statement. He'd never lied to her before. She turned and slammed into Regina so hard that the brunette nearly fell over. Emam wrapped her arms around Regina's neck tightly.

"He lyin'. What me do?"

"You didn't do anything, baby. Mama just got a little upset at Danny because he wants me to make you do something you're not ready for. Don't worry about it. You're perfectly fine. Did you want to go pick up Merida early?"

Emma nodded as Regina stood up and supported Emma as the girl clung to her. Regina glanced at Daniel and saw he felt bad. Good! He was overstepping before, and now Emma was upset. Today had been going well so far, and now she had to do damage control.

Regina took some files and put them in her bag before telling Ariel she was leaving for the day. She carried Emma over to the daycare. Emma wriggled until Regina set her down inside her classroom, and she ran over to the redhead.

"Meri, we go home play now!"

Merida looked over at Regina. "It spwinklah day."

Emma turned to look at her mother as well, face scrunched up in confusion.

"Sprinklers are something water comes out of and you play with. Merida, I can always start a sprinkler for you and Emma at home."

Merida nodded and took Emma's hand. Regina conjured another car seat into her vehicle and drove the girls home. They took off the second the car pulled into the garage.

"Girls, do not run! Emma, take your shoes off please."

Emma kicked off her shoes and pulled Merida into her playroom. They were playing for a bit with Emma's tea set until Merida noticed Emma's glove and ball.

"You pway ball?"

Emma looked at her, head tilted as Merida ran to pick up the mitt.

"Oh, dat…."" Emma's cheeks reddened as she shrugged. She had no idea if playing ball was good or not to her new friend.

Merida pointed to her shirt.

"Me pway on da team. You pway too?"

The blonde shook her head no. "Play wif mama."

"We go ask. You pway wif me on team."

Regina looked up when she felt a tiny tapping on her arm. She turned to find Merida looking expectantly at her while Emma was staring down at her socks.

"Yes?"

"Emma pway ball me team."

"Emma doesn't play on a team, dear."

"Me knows, dats why she pway me team."

"Ah, well did you ask Emma if she wanted to play on a team?"

Merida didn't even glance at Emma as she nodded. "Yes. She wants."

Regina smirked in amusement before looking at Emma who still hadn't looked up from her socks.

"Emma, sweetheart, do you want to play on the team? That means playing with all the kids we see, not just Merida. You have to play with them and talk to them too."

"A course she do. She pway nest to me."

"Merida, I think it's time to let Emma talk now. Baby, is this something you want to do?"

Emma looked over at Merida, who was bouncing up and down impatiently waiting for an answer. Green eyes met brown as little shoulders shrugged.

"You come too?"

"I can come. Of course I will, but you're going to be playing and practicing with the other kids on the field. I'll sit in the bleachers and watch."

Emma's little nose scrunched up and her brows furrowed.

"Come on, Em! You gots ta!"

"Emma, you do not have to if you don't want to. It might be fun to try though."

"Try?"

"Yes, try. I'll take you to a practice or two, and if you don't like it, you don't have to go again. If you like it, you can keep playing."

Emma pursed her lips and tilted her head, studying Regina's face for a minute before nodding.

"If you come, me do, to try."

"See, she do. Swpinklah now?"

Regina magicked a bathing suit for Emma before conjuring a sprinkler that looked like an oversized beach ball. Merida started playing immediately. Emma stood frozen, studying Merida as she played until the little redhead forced her to join in. Soon the girls were giggling and running around playing in the sprinkler until Elinor came to collect Merida.

As Regina was reading to Emma that night, she looked down at her daughter, stroking blonde curls back from her face.

"Emma, baby, you know that you don't have to play tee ball if you don't want to."

"It 'kay. Me try. You stay der? No leave me."

"Oh, Emma, I won't leave you. I promise that if I can't come to your practices that I will have Miss Ari or Auntie Kat take you, okay? I will come to every game. If this is something you want, I will always support you."

' _Told you she would be fine if you pushed her.'_

"Daniel, don't start again! Now is not the time."

Emma looked up at Regina.

"Dis why you mad? Me play ball?"

"No, honey. There's a bit more too it. If you want to play ball, I am happy. You have to want it for you though. I don't want you to feel you have to because of Meri or me or anyone. You play ball because you want to, or you don't because you don't want to. It is your choice."

"Me try. You needs to come too. No be alone again."

"Sweetling, you're never going to be alone again. I'm here for you now. I know lots of new people are scary, but I'm going to sit in the bleachers the whole time. If you don't like it, you don't have to keep doing it, okay?"

Emma nodded and snuggled into Regina. "Stay wif me."

"Always, princess!"

 **ESESES**

Regina took Emma to tee ball practice the next day with Elinor and Merida.

"Mayor Mills, what can I do for you?"

The coach, a high school junior, Lydia, was clearly in shock to see her. Regina couldn't blame her. She never really went to any sporting games Storybrooke had. She'd go if Emma wanted to though.

"This is my Emma. She's a bit nervous, but she'd like to try and practice with your team. Is that alright?"

"Well, sign up closed at the beginning of May, but I can make an exception since one of my kids broke his arm jumping off a swing and can't play anymore."

Regina had to clear her throat three times before Lydia stopped staring. She guided Emma back out from behind her legs and kept her hand on Emma's shoulder.

"Perhaps I need to send you an email on town conduct around Emma?"

"No, ma'am. I just, it won't happen again. Does she know how to play?"

"We've been watching practices for a week. She knows how to play catch. I haven't tried having her hit a ball yet."

"Okay, that's okay. She'll need a bat and a uniform shirt and hat. What size is she?"

"3T will be fine. They need their own bats?"

"Yes, most kids have their own bats. They practice at home. Tennis shoes only. No sandals or cleats. Shorts or leggings are fine. Jeans are hard to run in. It's $45 and another $25 to have the mom's shirt."

"I'm not playing, dear. What do I need a tee shirt for?"

Elinor stepped in to answer. "The moms all wear their team's shirt. It has the logo of the team and then Tee Ball Mom on back. Everyone wears them."

Regina raised an eyebrow at the woman.

"I am a queen. I'm a bit more refined than a Team Mom tee shirt."

Elinor nodded in Emma's direction and Regina found pleading green eyes staring up at her.

"Mama, same as me! Pwease!"

"We'll see, Emma. This is Lydia. She's your coach. That means you listen to her like you do Miss Aimee at daycare. Got it?"

Emma nodded and Merida dragged Emma across the field and started introducing her to her other friends. Regina watched as her daughter tensed and took a step back from the growing circle of kids surrounding Emma. She didn't pull away completely, but Regina knew Emma wasn't comfortable. Green eyes sought out hers every ten seconds or so.

Lydia was pretty good with the children. Emma listened to her pretty well. Other than having to deliver a conjured bat to Emma, Regina hadn't had to intervene, at least not on the diamond.

During Emma's first few attempts at hitting, she got frustrated at not hitting the ball. Regina didn't know what Lydia said to her, but the next attempt, Emma slammed it well past all the other preschoolers.

"Run, Emma!"

Lydia helped direct Emma where to go as she ran the bases.

"Go home, Emma!"

The little blonde ran right off the field, causing Regina to poof in front of Emma, blocking her path. Lydia chased her down on foot.

"Emma, where are you going? Honey, don't cry. What is it?"

"She say go home. No want me. Me go home."

"Oh, Emma. The base you stand at to hit is called home plate. If you run around first, second, and third, you run back to home base to score a run. She was telling you to run to home plate, not go home."

"I want you on my team, Emma. I don't want you to leave. I wanted you to score your run. You earned it."

Regina wiped tears from her daughter's face, hugging her tightly.

"Me run home, now?"

Lydia took Emma's hand and led her back towards the field.

"Yes, you can run to home now."

Emma ran around the bases again, this time jumping on home plate with both feet. She beamed a smile at Regina, who smiled right back at her. That was definitely going to be one to remind Emma about when she was older.

The end of the second practice Lydia gave Emma a bright kelly green shirt that said Storybrooke Dragons on the front with a silhouette of a dragon underneath. The back said Mills and the number 11.

"Mama, look, dragon!"

"I see. You seem to attract the dragons don't you?"

"Me wike ball. Toothless get shirt too?"

"I'll see what I can do."

Abigail joined Regina at practice on the third day.

"Wow, she's pretty good, especially for someone who didn't know what baseball was last week."

Regina beamed.

"She is excellent at throwing. We need to work on catching and hitting a bit, but Emma is doing great, isn't she?"

"Awe, look who is a proud soccer mommy. I think I need to get Sidney here to document the taming of the mayor."

"Abigail, I still have the picture of your escapades last Christmas. I don't want that odious man anywhere near Emma. He keeps trying, and I'm seconds from fireballing him as it is."

"The man is in love with you, unrequited or not. Of course he wants to get close to your daughter."

Regina shuddered and started muttering a few more protection spells over Emma.

News had gotten around about Emma coming out of hiding to play tee ball. The entire town, being absolutely nosy with nothing else going on, crowded the next game. People's jaws dropped as Regina showed up with Abigail. Both sported Dragon tee ball shirts. Abigail's just happened to say Aunt instead of Mom.

Emma backed away in panic as she saw the crowd near the field.

"Emma, honey, what's wrong?"

Abigail pointed to the field.

"The entire town is here. I guess everyone is excited to watch four year olds pretend to know how to play baseball."

"Alright, baby, you stay with Aunt Abbie and I'm going to get them to leave. You'll be okay."

It took ten minutes for the townspeople to clear out of anyone not family or friends of a child on the field. The crowd was still large, but much more manageable for Regina. She'd threatened to demolish the sundae shop if they didn't disperse.

"Listen you peasants. I will only say this once. Do not interact with my daughter unless she interacts with you first. I doubt she would, so that means leave her alone. She isn't an exhibit in a museum or a medical specimen to stare at. Emma has made huge progress in being around other children. The first person who stalls that progress will meet the Evil Queen again. Am I clear?"

Regina got mutters and mumbles in response, along with several eye rolls.

"I'm not kidding. Emma is a three year old girl. She is _my daughter._ You may think me a tame and mellow person now, but I will rip each and every one of your hearts out if Emma feels uncomfortable in the slightest around anyone."

Granny walked up behind Abigail and Emma. She was wearing a Tee Ball Granny shirt Regina had given her when she'd asked her to come to Emma's game. Her little granddaughter looked positively panicked. She's recognized the behaviour post dentist when Emma had a panic attack in her kitchen. She picked up the feather light child and stared at her.

"Emma, what's wrong?"

"Dem. Too many. Me go home."

"You don't want to play your game? I've been hearing all week about it. I thought you were excited to play."

Emma's breathing became more rapid as beads of sweat formed on her forehead, pupils widening.

"Me home! Me home!"

Little feet kicked her as legs flailed, but Granny held tight.

"Child, I know lots of people are here, but they're here for you."

It seemed to get Emma's attention some.

"They're here for you and your team to cheer you on to win. You know your mama is here. Kathryn is here. I'm here. You know we won't let anyone hurt you. They want you to do well. Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

Blonde curls shook as Emma wrapped her arms around Granny's neck.

"Emma, want to know a secret?"

Turning to Abigail , Emma nodded.

"Everyone is looking at your mama because she never wears jeans. They're too shocked to even notice anything else. When the game starts, they're going to be all cheering for you and your team. That's fun, right? You get a snack after the game. You got to stay if you want your snack."

Merida ran over and tugged on Emma's shirt.

"Emma, come on! We gots ta go now!"

Regina walked back over and took Emma from Granny.

"Duckling, breathe with me. In and out. In and out. That's it! Good!"

Emma calmed down after a few minutes, but she'd locked her limbs around Regina, not wanting to let go.

"Remember what we talked about? How much fun it's going to be to play a game? Pretend everyone else isn't here. It's just me, Auntie Abbie, and Granny. We're going to be cheering for you. Try it, and if you don't want to stay, we can go home."

"Pwomise?"

"I promise!"

"Kiss kiss!"

Regina gave Emma her kiss before putting the ball cap on blonde curls.

"Go get 'em, baby!"

Emma grabbed onto Merida's hand before securing her other hand in Regina's. The trio walked to the diamond before Emma took her glove and bat from her mama.

"You can do this, Emma. I've faith in you!" Regina whispered in her daughter's ear and snuck a kiss to her cheek in before the girls gathered with the rest of their team.

The townspeople were torn between staring at the casually dressed mayor and the newest mystery resident. Regina did her best to ignore them, focusing on Emma and her team. She cheered right along with everyone else who actually paid attention to the game.

Emma had two line drive doubles and a single. Merida did well too, but Regina mainly focused on her own daughter. The Dragons were clearly a much more athletically inclined team than the Chimeras.

At the end of the game, Emma hung back as other parents and kids milled the field. Regina, Abigail, and Granny found her at the far end, out of the masses. She was examining the wrapper of the fruit roll-up the team had gotten as a snack.

"Mama! You see? Me good?"

Regina picked Emma up and hugged her, pocketing the snack for a later time.

"You were the best ball player ever!"

"How about we go to the diner and I make you an Emma sundae?"

" _After_ she has lunch!" Regina knew Emma deserved a treat, but it was lunchtime, and she wasn't going to let Emma spoil her appetite on sugar instead of a proper meal.

"Gwanny, you shuht wike me and mama and Auntie Abbie!"

"That's right, I do. We're family. Family supports one another. What do you want for lunch?"

"Cheese sammy and mash tatoes."

"Grilled cheese and a sweet potato it is."

Sidney stepped in front of them as they reached the parking lot.

"Good game, Emma."

Emma's protection shield flared to life around the four of them, keeping Sidney at a safe distance.

"This is highly inappropriate, Sidney. I've asked you to stay away from Emma. I will trap you back in the mirror."

"I don't have my camera, Madame Mayor. I was just congratulating Miss Emma on a game well played."

Abigail scoffed.

"If you're not watching a tee ball game for the paper, you're just creeping on little children. That'd make an excellent headline, 'Journalist enjoys watching little children'."

Sidney glared at her before turning his attention back to Regina.

"Go home, Sidney. I don't want to tell you again to stay away."

They left Sidney standing at the edge of the field as they walked to the diner. Granny let them in through the back. She'd set up a table in there for Emma to eat at and colour whenever she was there. Regina noticed through the window into the diner that Ruby had on a Dragons tee ball shirt as well. She gave the wolf a brief smile before turning her focus on celebrating with Emma.

 **ESESES**

Tee ball really helped Emma come around to playing more with the other children at daycare. Emma still refused to go alone, but she at least played freely now.

Regina would bring her paperwork to the daycare and sit in the corner and do her work in plain view of Emma at all times. The town had started demanding to see Emma now that she was out playing tee ball and going to daycare. She'd refused, citing that other three and four year olds were vastly different than being bombarded by masses of adults twice Emma's size.

Emma had agreed to sit in on another videochat Town Hall meeting. She wasn't thrilled about seeing so many people staring at her. She'd sat still for all of six minutes before turning away from the camera and burying her face in Regina's neck to hide.

Going into the daycare Monday morning, Regina was surprised to find Aimee with Maureen Rey, the eighth grade teacher at the school.

"What's going on?"

"It's tradition that all the four year olds starting school in the fall get a seventh grade buddy. The buddy stays with them next year too. We introduce them over the summer so that the kids know each other for when August comes. Since you insisted Emma be tested to start a year early to stay with Merida, she's getting buddy too."

Regina's face drained of colour.

"School?"

"Yes, four year olds go to K4 and five year olds go to K5. There are a lot of four year olds, so the school goes Group A and B. They go half days and switch off which one is morning and which is afternoon. This way they get a sense for both time periods when they go all day in K5. Once a month, K4 goes all day, having both groups meet."

"Kindergarten?" The question was uttered in near awe.

Aimee and Maureen looked at each other. Was the mayor going mad?

"Regina, are you alright?" Aimee approached her friend with caution, unsure of what was transpiring.

"Emma starts kindergarten at the end of August."

Both teachers smiled, understanding what was going on now.

"She is, but it's going to be alright. Emma has really come around here. I'm sure she'll be great in K4. Quinn is the K4 teacher. She's a very nice woman. She'll be here tomorrow along with Maureen."

Emma starts school in a few months. She's just gotten her baby and she was already starting school. There was so much she had to do to prepare!

Maureen noticed the panic in the mayor's eyes.

"Everything is going to be alright. The school has a list of supplies by grade that can easily be gotten at most stores around town. The uniform is sold right at registration so you can buy a few and take them home immediately or get them tailored first."

"School? No! Me not go!"

Regina turned and dropped down to Emma's level.

"Emma, we've been over this. Lessons here aren't like the faeries. You're not going to be punished for not knowing. Teachers are there to help you learn. Miss Aimee doesn't punish you, does she?"

"No, but not gonna go!"

"Why won't you go?"

"Too much people. You leave me. Don't leave me!"

Emma threw her arms around Regina's neck as she started crying. Regina rubbed her daughter's back and waited for her to calm down some.

"Emma, I am not leaving you. Everyone has to go to school. You like helping Mama in her office, right?" At the nod, Regina continued. "You have to go to school so you can help like Miss Ari."

"Mama come too!"

Regina sighed. Emma was barely starting to come around to daycare, and that was only with kids her own age. How was she going to handle the hundreds of kids at the school? Her mayoral duties were really going to suffer, but it looked like kindergarten classes were in Regina's future. Lucky for the town, classes were only half days.

"Mama will come until you feel comfortable to go on your own. Miss Aimee said you get a big buddy to be with you too."

"Big buddy? Just want you!"

"Emma, a big buddy is an older kid who is going to help you to your classroom when you come to school and make sure you get back to daycare okay. They're going to be coming soon to meet you."

"NO! Just mama!"

"Perhaps we hold off on Emma's buddy for a bit. I'm sure once she sees the other kids with them she'll start to come around. Right now that isn't a good idea."

"I do have one student out on vacation still. She can be Emma's buddy when she comes back. That'll give some time to adjust."

Emma stayed glued to Regina's lap all day while the teenagers came and got assigned to their little buddies. Merida insisted on bringing hers to show Emma.

"Dis Jazz. She me buddy. Her has tiger. Where you buddy?"

Emma stared up at the dark haired girl, transfixed by the blue gem in her belly button.

"She doesn't have one right now, Meri. Her buddy is on vacation."

"Oh, wee wamb! You shay-uh mine."

Regina laughed at the precocious little girl calling Emma a wee lamb.

"Mama, me do?" Emma pointed to the gem as she looked up expectantly at Regina.

"Maybe when you're thirty."

Emma's brows furrowed.

"When dat? Tomowwow?"

"Sometimes you make me think you've got a thirty year old hiding in there, but no. You're three. Thirty is much older."

"Wike Gwanny?"

"Not quite that old."

"Wike Auntie Abbie?"

"Yes, old like your Auntie Abigail. I will be sure and tell her she's old the next time I talk to her."

"Kay. Ask if she do too. Me wanna see!"

Despite Emma not leaving Regina's lap the rest of the day, she did interact a little with Jasmine, mostly at Merida's insistence.

The teens left when it was time for the little ones to nap. Regina turned to Aimee, pausing her paperwork.

"Who will Emma's buddy be? Are they suitable for Emma? If she must have a buddy, I want the best."

"Of course, Regina. Emma is being paired with a straight A student. She's on the basketball team and the debate team. She's a wonderful choice for Emma since she's fascinated with dragons."

"Is this girl fascinated with dragons as well?"

"Not quite. Lilith Rose _is_ a dragon."

"The girl is a dragon? Does that mean her mother is…" Regina trailed off as her jaw dropped open.

"Her mother is Maleficent."

Regina asked Granny to come over that night. She needed someone to talk to about Emma starting school. Knowing how Daniel felt about Emma interacting with people, she couldn't talk to him.

"Child, what's troubling you?"

Granny knew something was on Regina's mind. The lost, worried look in her eyes told Granny it was about Emma.

The brunette glanced over at her daughter who was happily colouring at the table.

"They got buddies today at daycare."

"That's wonderful. How did Emma handle it?"

"She didn't. They got seventh grade buddies for going to school at the end of August. My baby is going to school in a few months!"

"Ah, and you're worried?"

"Yes! Emma already refused today to go to school. I don't think she's ready. It's a lot of people, new people she's never seen before. School will be so different for her. I don't want to overwhelm her. She just started tolerating daycare."

Granny handed Regina a glass of wine.

"It's normal to be nervous, Regina. Every parent gets nervous sending their child off to school. It's a rite of passage though. Emma is strong enough to go. The teachers will look out for her."

"I know, and she's made it clear I must go with her too. I just, I'm not ready for her to go yet either. I _just_ got her. I wish I could drop all my responsibilities and be with her all day. I'm not ready to let her go to school and lose more time with her."

"Kindergarten is half a day. You can always take her to the office with you when she's not at school. Once Emma adjusts, she's going to love school. She's incredibly intelligent."

"She got that way through punishment. Emma is afraid to go because of what the f-a-e-r-i-e-s did to her for not knowing. I don't want her to fear school. I want her excited about it. I don't know if I can send her this year, though."

"You're sending her, child. Emma needs an education. If you hold her back, all the other kids are going to form bonds in K4. You send her in as a new kid in K5, and you're only going to make it harder on Emma. How are you going to explain to her why the other kids in daycare are leaving for school and she isn't?"

"I don't know! I don't know! I want to freeze time and keep her in this moment forever. School is such a huge step. I am not ready for this!"

"Gwanny, Meri gots a big buddy today."

"She did? Can you tell me about them?"

"Uh huh! Her name Jazz. She has tiger and a blue belly. Mama said me gets one tomowwow."

"Emma, I did not! I said you could get one when you're thirty."

"Me be dat tomowwow."

Granny chuckled as she stirred the pasta sauce.

"I'll be thirty tomorrow too if that's how this works. Who is your buddy?"

"Miss Aimee say she on bay-cay-shun."

"Va-ca-tion," Regina corrected, sounding out the syllables.

"Yeah, that. She come soon. She a dragon!"

"That's not very nice, Emma!"

"No, Granny. Lilith Rose is Maleficent's daughter. She's really a dragon."

"Oh, well then. I'm sorry, Emma. I bet you're excited to meet a dragon."

"So essited! Me drawing her my ABC's to show her how good me is."

Granny turned to Regina and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I think Emma might be a bit more ready for this than you are."

"Emma is excited to meet a dragon, simple as that."

"Are you excited for school, Emma? You can play with all your friends there. They're going to have new toys to play with and you get to dress up."

Emma turned to look at her mama.

"No, me bwing me buddy to Mama's. We do lessons there."

Regina shot Granny an 'I told you so' look before returning to salad preparation.

School. How had it become time for Emma to go to school yet? She'd asked that Emma be tested to know if she could bump Emma up so she could stay with Merida, fearing what would happen if Emma started school next year with kids she didn't know instead. She hadn't quite planned beyond testing though. Regina needed to get all of Emma's paperwork into school to register her. Perhaps she would apply to be Emma's group aide for the teacher. This way she could stay with Emma all year while being involved in her learning and getting more time with her. August was coming whether she liked it or not. Regina definitely wasn't liking it at the moment.


	11. Chapter 11

"Emma, baby wake up. It's time for daycare."

"Not today. Maybe next week."

"We don't have a choice, baby. Mama is tired. Please get up."

"Ten minute. Me sleep."

Regina sighed. She was in no mood to fight with her daughter today. "Emma, it's buddy day. You get to meet Lily, remember?"

One eye popped open to squint at her. "Dragon day?"

"Yes, dragon day. You, Meri, and Jazz get to spend all day with Lily."

"You too?"

"Oh, Mama _has_ to meet your new big buddy. It's important I know her."

"Acause she give me dragon rides and you gots to make sure she nice?"

Regina pried the covers out of Emma's hands before pulling her into her lap. She chuckled at Emma's wild bed head and tried to smooth it back into place. "Mama has to say you can go on a ride _if_ Lily wants to give you one."

"Oh, she will! Me so essited! Dragon time!"

Chuckling, Regina placed a kiss on Emma's forehead before setting her on the ground. "You can't have dragon time until you get ready for daycare. To the bathroom with you."

Emma scampered off to get ready. She went to the bathroom and washed her hands and brushed her teeth. She returned to her room and started pulling out all her clothes from the dressers. Regina returned to Emma's room and found her daughter in her underwear, glaring hard at her dresser.

"Emma, what on earth are you doing?"

"Me has nofing to wear!"

"The clothes on the ground say otherwise. You're going to have to clean this all up."

"Mama, me cwisis here! What do dragons like best? She like Toothless or Stitch or Hawwy Pottah? Is she purple like us?"

Regina knelt down to be eye level with Emma. "Baby mine, Lily will love whatever you wear because you are a loveable girl. Clothes do not matter. Wear what you like best."

"You make me dwess up nice for da stuffs."

"Sometimes you have to dress up for things because you're the mayor's daughter and it's expected. Today you can wear whatever you want. What do you want to wear?"

Emma scrunched up her nose as she stared back at her clothes strewn all over. Tears quickly welled before Emma shook her head. "Me wan look me best. She gots to like me."

"What do you think you look best in?"

"If me knew, me'd be dwessed. Duh." Emma tilted her head and put her hands on her hips. She was the epitome of sass in that moment.

Regina was stunned into silence for a moment as she stared at Emma. "Who taught you that?"

"Meri, duhhhhh." Emma rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "Help me look pwetty for dragon."

"Do not 'duh' me again. That's rude. Whatever you choose to wear, she will like, but her name is Lily. When we meet her, don't call her dragon okay?"

"If you not help, den you get pitcher me colour her pwease."

"If this is what I'm like, I need to give Ariel a raise." Regina muttered to herself as she rifled through Emma's clothes.

Emma raised her arms up in the air when Regina went to hand her a purple shirt with Stitch on it. Sighing at Emma's divatude, Regina helped the princess into white denim shorts too.

"You're putting on your own shoes, your highness. You know how to dress yourself."

"Meri say Alma dwess her all days."

"Well you aren't Meri. You are more than capable of dressing yourself."

"But Meri say I'm pwincess and pwincess don't dwess dey self."

Regina knelt down to look Emma in the eye. "Baby, you _are_ a princess and whatever else you want to be. We don't go by monarchies here. Everyone is a person here, where they don't have to be a servant if they don't want to be. Do you not like picking out your own clothes and dressing yourself?"

"Meri say -"

"No, I don't want to hear what Merida says. I want to hear what Emma has to say."

"Clothes here are good. Me like dem. Dey not Occhi's. Just mine."

"All yours, but unless you really need help getting dressed, you be your lovely independent self and put on your own clothes, okay?"

Emma nodded before staring at her shoes, fingers nervously fiddling. "She gon like me?"

"Oh, Emma. Lily is going to love you. You're a wonderful baby." Regina tucked an errant curl behind Emma's ear before pulling her close and kissing her forehead.

" _Mama_ , me not baby. Me so big. Meri say only big guhls go to school."

""You're not allowed to be a big girl yet. Mama hasn't had enough time of you being little yet."

Emma flung her arms around Regina's neck and kissed her. "Me your guhl. You be mine?"

"Absolutely!"

The whisper made Regina chuckle. "You apposed to say you got it dude."

"I'm terribly sorry, your majesty. Next time I will say," Regina scrunched up her nose in distaste at the phrase. "You got it dude."

Emma nodded and smiled brightly. "Meri see Full House on da pitcher box."

"It's a TV, silly Emma. You ready to eat breakfast?"

Emma shook her head no causing Regina to feel the girl's forehead. "You okay, baby? Why don't you want to eat?"

"Tummy flies."

"Oh, well how about Mama brings a cereal cup and some milk so that when your butterflies go away you can eat?"

"Maybe we stay home. Nodder day we do."

"We're going to daycare, Emma. You're going to be just fine. You'll see."

Emma clung to Regina as soon as they were out of the car. She refused to let go to play with Meri and Jazz so Regina decided to interact with them instead.

"Jazz, you've got quite the Disney theme going on. Is there a particular reason?"

"My mother is Princess Jasmine. She pulled the whole Lorelai Gilmore thing on me with my name. I can't even be my own person. She loathes Disney so I do it to annoy her."

"Right, and the tiger?" Regina made a mental note to limit the unsupervised interaction this preteen had with her daughter.

"Rajah? He's a harmless kitten unless you're my father."

"Does youse got Abu too?"

Jazz scoffed. "You think a tiger would let a monkey live in the same house without becoming dinner?"

Green eyes widened before narrowing. "Dat very bad! Monkey a fwiend. Not food."

"Chill out, squirt. Abu is fine. He just doesn't live with us."

Merida rolled her eyes. "Em not squirt. She a wee wamb."

Lily walked in late. She couldn't decide what to wear. She'd never cared about impressing anyone before, but suddenly impressing this four year old was extremely important. She'd changed outfits six times before deciding on a lavender fringe tank top and white denim shorts. She opted for silver gladiator sandals and brushed her hair one last time before dashing to the daycare.

Maureen smiled at Lily as she finally got past the director at sign-in. "Hello, Lilith. There's some things we need to talk about before I take you to your buddy."

Dark brown brows furrowed. "What is it? Did I do something already?"

"No, it's just that Emma, well she isn't four."

"Is she five? Older? Did she get held back?"

"Emma is the mayor's daughter. She's three and a half. She's had a difficult time adjusting to this realm."

"This realm? I thought no one was left in the forest. Where did she come from?"

"It turns out that Emma and Pinocchio were left there. It's a long story I'm sure your mother can fill in when she reads her emails. Anyways, Emma hasn't had the easiest time here, and because of that the mayor got Emma into this year's four year old class because her friend Merida is in there. I know you don't get on the best with Jasmine, but for Emma's sake I really need you to try. She's incredibly excited to meet you. Just be a little more cautious with her than normal."

Lily nodded as her teacher finally led her to the preschool room. The kids were all running around and playing. Being around small children wasn't something Lily was exactly comfortable with, but it was required of the 7th and 8th graders. It was graded, and she needed to keep her 4.0.

"Mayor Mills, Emma, this is Lilith Rose. Lilith, this is Mayor Mills and Emma." Maureen stepped back to watch the interaction. She needed this to go well. Her job could very well be on the line if the mayor was displeased.

Regina appraised the girl from head to toe. Her near black hair and dark eyes couldn't be farther from Maleficent's looks. She was dressed well though and looked as nervous as she knew Emma was. "I'm Regina. This is Emma. She's a little -"

Emma jumped up before Regina could finish her sentence. "Me Emma. We wear same shorts. I drawed you dis. Do you like Toothless?"

The entire group was silent, waiting to hear Lily's answer. The preteen surmised this was the make or break it response. A few seconds of silence had Emma drawing back into her shell and flopping down into Regina's lap, hiding her face in the mayor's chest.

"I love Toothless. I also love Stitch. Do _you_ like them?"

Lily waited for Emma to look at her before smiling and reaching for the picture still in Emma's hand. She unrolled it and looked at the skilled drawing of a little blonde girl riding Toothless with Stitch. "Is this you?"

"Mama said not to call you dragon, but Miss Aimee said you were a dragon too, but me don't know what youse look like so I drew Toothless."

"Awe, so this is us?"

Emma nodded and pulled her fingers from her mouth. "You give me dragon ride? Me so essited!"

"If your mom says it's fine we can go one day."

"Me onwy has a mama, no mom. Mama say kay."

"Emma! It's not nice to lie. We did not discuss you going on a dragon ride."

Emma turned and sat up on her knees before squishing Regina's cheeks between her palms. " _Mama,_ me has to go!"

"Let me talk to Lily about it, and we'll see."

"It's totally safe. I've never had anyone as little as Emma ride, but it's really easy. Have you ever been on a dragon?"

"I, well…"

Lily tilted her head in equal parts confusion and amusement. "Alright, I'm going to take that as a yes. If you need, I can take you up before I take Emma."

"What if she falls off? She doesn't exactly have a long attention span and I don't want her to take a thirty foot tumble."

"I fly, Mayor. It's not like I'd stay airbourne if Emma was falling. I've wings, arms, and feet. I wouldn't let her get hurt."

"You don't even know her."

"I'm not a monster, Madame Mayor. I have a heart. I'm sure you've a list of questions for me to ensure I'm good enough. Mom always said…"

Regina quirked an eyebrow. "Don't stop there, dear. What did Maleficent say about me?"

"Nothing."

"Mama no scawy face. Lee a friend."

Regina gave Lily another once over. She supposed this girl was as innocent in everything as Emma was. The sins of the mother are definitely not the sins of the daughter, at least not unless you're Regina. "Alright, baby. Lily is a friend."

Emma's cheeks pinkened. "Mama, me not baby." The scolding meant to be a whisper, but the group had all heard.

"Don't worry, Emma. My mama still calls me her baby too. I don't think they ever stop calling you baby until you're at least three hundred."

Green eyes studied Lily before nodding seriously. "Tomowwow me be tirty so me a get a blue tummy like Jazz."

"Oh, but if you're thirty, we can't be buddies."

"Yeah huh! Mama say so." Tears threatened to spill as Emma's bottom lip jutted out.

Regina smoothed Emma's curls down before rubbing her back. "Lily's right, Emma. You've got to stay your age so that Lily can be your buddy at school. No one else in the whole school but you gets Lily. You can't go to school with Merida if you're thirty."

"That's right, kid. I'm the only dragon. You're gonna be the coolest in the whole class."

"Me wants you _and_ a blue tummy!"

"We'll see, duckling. You tell Auntie Abbie that she's old and I'm sure I can find a very tiny purple gem to _temporarily_ be on your tummy."

Jazz glared at Lily as Emma fawned all over her. She'd wanted to be the one to make the connection to the normally shy preschooler. She'd been doing well, and her main competition just waltzed in and whisked her away. Lily beat her for top spot in the class, the one always chosen for the best debates. She got point guard on the basketball team. She got voted Most Popular in the yearbook. It wasn't fair that she lost out to Lily yet again.

Regina noticed the glaring and raised an eyebrow at the girls. "This is for the little ones. I do hope whatever animosity you have towards one another that you let it go to provide the best example for them."

"Of course, Madame Mayor. Jasmine and I wouldn't dream of setting a negative example for the girls. We want them to be strong leaders, like us. Right, Jasmine?"

Fighting off a growl, Jazz nodded. "Of course, strong, independent females. Girl power."

Regina scoffed lightly at how fake the preteen sounded before letting Emma and Merida take over the conversation. At the end of the day, Emma hadn't wanted to let Lily go. She practically dragged Regina home after the teen had left to tell Granny all about her new buddy.

 **ESESES**

Emma spent the entire week with Lily. She was so happy and distracted with the teen that Regina got to actually go to the office while Emma went to daycare. When Lily asked to see Emma outside of school, Regina had allowed her to come over and play for a few hours.

"Ariel, I need you to collect Emma from daycare. I've a meeting starting in a few minutes and I can already tell it's going to run late."

"Yes, Madame Mayor."

Emma was playing with Lily when Miss Aimee announced it was time for her to go home. Green eyes scanned the room for her mama only to narrow when it was Ariel standing outside the classroom instead. She grabbed Lily's hand and marched them both to City Hall.

Ariel slowed down as they finally made it inside the building. "Emma, the mayor is in a meeting. I don't -"

"She my mama. Me go in!"

Emma ran through City Hall and tore into her mama's conference room. The entire room ceased talking as the doors flung open and Emma ran to Regina, pulling herself up into her lap and giving her mama a kiss.

"Hello Ducky. How was your day?"

"Youse wasn't der to get me. Lily taked me to pway?"

"You want Lily to take you to play until I'm done? Aunt Abbie is going to come pick you up in an hour and a half for dinner."

Frowning, Emma pouted up at her mama. "Youse not coming?"

Regina tucked a curl behind Emma's ear. "Baby mine, I have to have this meeting. I'll be late, but I'll be home before you go to bed."

Emma turned to glare at the members gathered at the table to find them all staring at her. "Youse be bery shamed keep Mama from me. Shame youse all! Don't look me!"

The mayor was amused at the fact that her daughter just pulled a mini mayor on her staff meeting. All their eyes quickly darted away. It was highly amusing to watch a three year old control a table full of adults so easily with just a scolding tone and a wagging finger.

"Sorry, Madame Mayor. I told her you were busy."

"I am never too busy for my daughter, Ariel."

Ariel blushed as the table turned to eye her. "Of course, ma'am."

Lily stepped into the room and Regina's focus drifted to her. "Dear, you know the rules, center of town only. No sweets, and Abigail will be here at 5:30 to pick Emma up. Don't keep her waiting."

"Got it. Emma had a really good day. We worked on reading. There's reading homework in her bag that Ms. Todd gave her for her progress today." Lily held up Emma's Toothless backpack.

"Ms. Quinn say me do weal good, and gived me all da books to wead to you at sleeptime. She say me gon be da smahtest guhl da whole cwass."

"The smartest girl in the whole class? That's my girl! You and Abbie can pick out what to read to me tonight."

"Dey not aportant. Youse sure you can't come wif me pway?"

"I'm sure, Emma. Mama has to finish this meeting. Go play with Lily and have lots of fun so you can tell me all about it later."

Emma sighed and leaned up to give her mama a kiss. "Kay, but if youse not home after dinner, me coming for you."

"Yes ma'am." Regina chuckled.

"Love you. Kiss kiss."

Regina leaned down and kissed Emma. "Love you too, duckling. Behave for Lily."

Emma slid off her mama's lap and glared at the other adults around the table once more before bouncing out the door with Lily.

Lily fell into step just behind the three year old who was literally bouncing down the street. "What would you like to do, Emma?"

"Occhi daddy make toys. We go."

The little blonde practically dragged Lily to Geppetto's store. Lily looked around the store in awe. All the pieces were clearly hand carved. Most looked delicate, and Emma was anything but delicate. "Don't touch anything!"

"Me can. Occhi me brodder. Me do whatever me want." Emma rolled her eyes at Lily before pursing her lips and fixing Lily with a stare that dared the teen to argue.

"Emma! You're here. Come see what I'm making."

Emma ran through the store dodging through aisles and tables full of elaborate pieces that had Lily cringing. "Occhi, me found you! Youse gots toys for me?"

Pinocchio smiled down at Emma before handing her a carved panda. "Papa is teaching me how to make a dragon. It's hard though."

"Occhi, dis Lily. She a weal dragon. She my new fwiend, buddy for school. Ms. Quinn say me gon be smahtest guhl der."

"That's awesome. Summer school isn't that bad. I don't get hurt for not knowing stuff."

Pinocchio launched into tales about school and what he'd been up to. Lily tuned them out and became distracted in the woodwork. The little kids talked for forty-five minutes before Geppetto told Pinocchio it was time to get to his homework.

"Alright, Em. What do you want to do? We still have a while yet to play."

"Da park. Mama taked me der one day with Occhi."

"Where is it?"

Emma smirked impishly before grabbing Lily's hand. White smoke enveloped them both and Lily found herself disoriented. She blinked a few times before looking around. The woods wasn't far away. Upon further inspection, Lily realized she was at the park on the edge of town. The little blonde grinned up at the teen.

"The mayor specifically said to stay in the center of town, Emma. This isn't the center of town."

"We pway here."

Lily forgot her anxiety about facing the wrath of the mayor later as she and Emma played. They lost track of time as Emma covered every piece of equipment several times over. Lily loved Emma's imagination. She'd turned the playground into an elaborate castle in this latest pretend game. Lily almost wished it were a movie or book she could revisit repeatedly.

"Awfully late for two unsupervised children to be out."

Emma's shield flared to life before the little one even spun to face the faery. "Blue, what youse want?"

Lily stared at the blue forcefield around Emma as lightning seemed to sizzle across it. Emma backed up until Lily was absorbed into the shield. Lily winced, expecting pain, but was surprised when Emma's hand squeezed hers.

"Well, if it isn't the little demon child no one wants."

"Mama wants me!"

"The Evil Queen is the most broken, most deluded member of this town after you. She's going to get sick of you and send you away too. No one wants such a lowly excuse for a child."

"The mayor does. I read the email, and she's told me. She loves Emma."

"The hybrid dragon girl, figure the lowest of the low would flock together." Blue scoffed.

"Stupid faery! Lily is da best, and my mama love me. Youse just a ugwy douche canoe."

Lily gasped, not because this faery didn't deserve it. She so did. She gasped because she hadn't realized Emma had overheard her fight with Jasmine. "Emma."

"Why you insolent little brat! Seems someone has forgotten their manners. Let me remind you."

Lily felt the shield ripple as Blue's magic ricocheted off it. Blue growled in frustration and kept trying without perceived success. Lily looked down at Emma and found her face scrunched in pain. "Emma, get us out of here!"

Emma could feel muted zaps from Blue, but her shield was mostly doing its job. Lily was safe. She focused, ignoring Lily's plea for them to leave. Through the shield, Emma blasted her own magic at Blue. The woman dropped to her knees and Emma managed a smirk and a raised eyebrow at her before poofing them to the front of City Hall.

Lily scooped up a sobbing Emma and rubbed her back. "Shh, we're safe. It's okay."

"Me wan Mama!"

"No, we can't go see her now. Abigail will be here soon. Emma, I need you to be brave. If your mama sees you crying she won't let me be your friend anymore."

"Mama no do."

"She'll be very mad at me for putting you in a situation to make you cry. She'll think you got hurt on my watch, and it'll be a long time before we can play again. You can't tell her."

Emma leaned back to find dark brown eyes pleading with her. "Fine. Me no tell."

"Thank you, Emma. I really like hanging out with you, and my grade depends on the mayor not hating me."

Despite being only three, Emma knew what Lily meant and her heart broke a little. She wriggled free of Lily's hold. Lily only liked her so she wouldn't be in trouble at school. She wasn't her real friend. Emma poofed herself inside to grab her backpack before poofing to Abigail.

Abigail was in the middle of wrapping up her last client meeting to go pick up Emma when white smoke swirled around her and an extra twenty seven pounds clinging to her. She looked down to find Emma's face buried in her neck.

Kyle jumped back, knocking over his chair as white smoke surrounded his lawyer. When it cleared, a child was in her lap. "What the hell?"

"Language, Mr. McGill. The mayor would not appreciate learning you taught her three year old how to swear."

"You know, I'm just going to go. We can finish this later."

Kyle ran out of the room, and Abigail pulled Emma out of her hiding spot. "Em gem, what's wrong? You sad?"

Emma shook her head no and buried her face in Abigail's neck again. When Emma moped around and barely ate dinner, Abigail grew concerned.

"Baby cakes, you sure you don't want dinner? It's your favourite."

"Me no want."

"How about you just take a bite for me?"

"No."

"Emma, please!"

Emma stopped dragging her spoon through her macaroni and cheese and stared Abigail dead in the eye as she pushed her bowl off the table to the ground. "All gone."

Abigail sighed and bent to clean up the mess as Emma poofed herself into her bedroom. She had no idea what had gotten into Emma, and it didn't look like Emma was going to tell her anytime soon.

Emma didn't even put up a fight about bathtime. Normally it was World War III trying to get Emma into the bath. It usually resulted in a flooded bathroom floor, and an angry preschooler. The sound of the garage door had never been such a relief before.

Regina was surprised when Kat cornered her inside the garage. "Where's Emma?"

"Emma is acting odd. She poofed to me this afternoon and has been mopey all night. She barely ate two bites of dinner, and I even got her a bath without incident. What happened today?"

"I have no idea. Emma was fine this afternoon. She was her usual self. Something must have happened with Lily." Regina brushed past Abigail and went in search of Emma. She found Emma in her bed, nearly lost under the covers.

"Mama!"

Regina sat on the edge of the bed. "You want to sleep in Mama's bed tonight?"

"No. Me just waiting youse to come home."

Regina changed out of her work clothes and into silk pajamas before returning to Emma. "Aunt Abigail tells me you didn't eat dinner tonight. You sure you're not hungry?"

Emma shook her head no and started sucking on her fingers. Regina just knew something was wrong. "Well, Mama needs cuddles so will you stay with me tonight?"

"Wead to me."

"Ask nicely and I will. Manners are important."

Brown eyes widened in shock when Emma burst into tears. Regina quickly scooped Emma up into her lap. "Mama's got you, Emma. Everything's okay." She had no idea what was wrong, so Regina just held Emma and rubbed her back.

Twenty minutes of crying, and Emma was finally starting to calm down. Regina pulled out _Love You Forever_ and began to read. The words calmed Emma down after two read throughs. Regina looked down to find Emma passed out against her, fingers in her mouth. Talking would have to wait.

' _Regina, Regina goddammit! WAKE UP!'_

Bolting upright, Regina's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, seeing Daniel's shimmery form next to her bed. The glaring red numbers of her alarm close shone through. "It's 2:45 in the morning. This had better be good."

' _Turn and look at Emma, Regina. I get that you're tired, but you need to step up your skills.'_

Flipping over, Regina saw Emma on the other side of the mattress, too close to falling off the edge. There was some sort of shield around Emma. It was similar, and yet completely different than her protection shield. Emma was inside thrashing around. It looked like she was screaming, but Regina couldn't hear her.

' _I told you she gets nightmares. The faeries used to make her put the silencing shield up so they wouldn't have to deal with it.'_

"She's never had one here before. What happened?"

' _Take care of Emma. She will tell you when she's ready.'_

Regina pulled herself upright before going to reach for Emma. She wasn't expecting the shield to shock her. She shook out her hand before trying again and getting the same result. She finally resorted to calling on her magic to counter the shield.

Piercing screams that made Regina want to cover her ears and cringe away from the noise instantly filled the room. When Emma nearly toppled off the bed, Regina quickly grabbed Emma and pulled her into her arms, trying to control Emma's flailing limbs.

It took nearly an hour for Emma to calm. Not a nightmare then, but a night terror. Regina read about them, but she didn't think she'd ever experience one. Tear filled green eyes slowly blinked open to find Regina staring down at her.

"Emma, sweetling, you're safe. Mama's got you."

"Mama?"

"I'm here, baby. You're safe."

Emma took a few moments to just reorient herself and cuddle in her mama's arms. "You woked me."

"I did wake you up. You were having a bad nightmare."

"No one woked me afore."

"Emma, look at me." Regina waited for green eyes to meet hers. "Emma, you never ever have to be afraid of letting me know you're having bad dreams. Mama will always come hold you and protect you."

"Always?"

"Always, always! Can you tell me what you were having bad dreams about?"

Emma shook her head no, hiding her face in Regina's shirt.

"No? Why not?"

"Pwomised."

"You promised not to? Who did you promise?"

When Emma didn't answer, Regina turned to Daniel. "How about Danny tells me and you add in anything he missed?"

"No! I pwomised acause if me telled youse den me no see her no moe even doh it not her fault."

"Is this about Lily?"

"She no do it!"

' _Blue attacked Emma.'_

"Danny! Youse no tell! Bad boy."

Regina pulled Emma back to look down at her. "Blue attacked you? Why didn't you tell me, Emma? Are you hurt? Where were you that she did this? Why didn't Lily protect you?"

"Lily no magic. Me pwotect Lily. Me taked us to park like Occhi. Danny not nice to telled. Me pwomise Lily acause she no want do bad school."

"Lily has magic, Emma. You're a little girl. It's not your job to save everyone. Why did Blue attack you?"

"Me bad manner. Me yelled at her."

' _Tell her the whole truth, Emma.'_

"Shh, Danny. No tell."

Regina shook her head, baffled. "You will tell me, Emma. It's my job to protect you. I love you! What did Blue say to you?"

"Demon child no one want wif bad manners. Bad guhls get hurt. Zaps."

"Duckling, you're not a demon. I love you completely. I want you more than anything. I traveled realms for you, and I'd do it all again too. No one will ever hurt you again. Do you know now why I said to stay in the center of town? Next time you want to go to the park, just come get me. I want to keep you safe."

"Faery stupid!"

"Baby mine, why do you think I will keep you from Lily?"

"She say you bwame her for me cry and Blue. Me taked her to park, not her. She say me no tell acause she no fail school. She no like me."

Regina hugged Emma tightly. "Lily likes you, my dear. I promise. She tries very hard in school too, but she adores you. Do not lie to me ever. Not for any reason. Understood?"

Emma nodded. "Lily like me? Youse sure?"

"Yes baby. Anyone would be silly not to like you."

' _Emma picked up colourful language from Jazz and Lily arguing. Take care of Blue and then talk to Lily.'_

"You're overstepping again, Daniel. Emma is _my_ daughter. I'm raising her now. I don't follow orders anymore. Lily and I will be having a talk, because no one makes my baby feel used. I'll figure out what to do with Blue, but right now Emma needs me."

"Hugs. Kiss kiss."

Regina gave Emma what she asked for, and held her close, stroking fingers through blonde curls.

"Mama love?"

"Mama loves you more than all the stars in the sky."

"Blue say bad stuff bout youse. Me got so mad."

"Well, Blue doesn't matter. She just wants to hurt us. Don't listen to anything she says. You're safe with me, Emma, so loved and wanted. You never have to be afraid of telling me anything. I'll always love and protect you."

"Love Mama."

"Love you too, Ducky."

Emma snuggled down into Regina and finally felt safe enough to not need her silencing shield. Her mama wasn't going to scream or hurt her for bad dreams. She wanted to help her. Regina continued to stroke Emma's hair, humming softly. She was going to make sure her baby never had reason to doubt she was loved and wanted ever again.

 **ESESES**

Regina had to corner Lily in order to talk to her.

"Uh, Madame Mayor, what can I do for you?"

"You told Emma to lie to me."

Lily frantically looked around for a way out of this. "I -"

"You told my daughter to lie to me, Lilith. You can understand why I don't appreciate that."

"Well yeah."

A dark eyebrow quirked. "Well yeah? I do not tolerate lying. Do you know you made my baby feel like you're only using her for school."

Brown eyes widened in shock. "No! That wasn't my intention at all. I think Emma is the coolest tiny ever."

"You're going to have to make it right with her then, dear."

"Of- of course. What do you want me to do?"

"First, I want you to promise you'll never ask my daughter to lie to me again.'

"I promise. I so promise!"

"You have magic, dear. I never want Emma to be the one saving you. She's three. Her magic may be incredibly powerful, but you are older. If your magic is anything like your mother's, I know you can protect her."

"The Blue Faery came out of nowhere and started harassing us and then attacking us. I wasn't prepared. It was my fault."

"I will deal with her. You are going to offer Emma a dragon ride. I'll be on the ground watching. It's what she's wanted more than anything for a long time."

Together they found Emma with Abigail and took her to an open field.

"What me do here?"

"Well, your mama has decided that finally time."

Blonde brows furrowed. "Time fo what?"

"Time for your dragon ride, silly."

Emma squealed and started jumping up and down, hugging first Lily and then Regina. "Weally?"

"Really, now stand back while Lily transforms. I'll help you up."

Seeing a dragon in the flesh was an absolute thrill for Emma. Lily was about half the size of Maleficent. Regina assumed it was because she was a child still. Lily was almost completely purple, whereas Regina remembered Mal was mostly black. Lily lowered herself flat to the ground so Regina could place Emma on Lily.

"Stay wif me, Mama."

"Are you certain? This is supposed to be for you."

"Mama too."

Regina wrapped an arm tightly around Emma and gripped one hand tightly to a scale, her thighs clenching to secure her hold as Lily's wings spread to prepare for takeoff.

Lily took off as slowly as she could, not wanting to scare Emma or the mayor. The death grip Regina had on her though kind of hurt, so it was wonderful when Regina finally relaxed and loosened her grip slightly. Emma was cheering and laughing. She thought it was the most awesome thing she'd ever done. All that mattered was Emma's happiness.

When Lily finally landed and all were human again, Lily pulled Emma in for a hug.

"Dat so cool! Me do again!"

"Another time, Emma. My wings need a break."

"Oh, tank youse fo me wide. Meri be so jealous."

Regina chuckled. "Maybe you could ask Meri if she wants to come sometime if Lily says it's okay."

"Sure, but Emma, I want you to know that I think you're the coolest kid. You're my friend. I'd happily fail the assignment so long as we stayed friends."

"Weally? Youse like me?"

"I do like you. You're my buddy. I'd be very sad if you were upset at me. Friends?"

Emma launched herself at Lily, wrapping her arms around her neck in a hug. "Fwiend."


End file.
